In Pakistan, Hotel industry makes a considerable part of the service sector. Experts identified that food, accommodation and dress are the three most essential things of human. Hotel industry or hotel alone offers two basic things: accommodation and food. No doubt, hotel is a part of the hospitality industry which is an umbrella term for a broad variety of service industries counting, but not limited to, hotels, restaurants and casinos. The Hotel industry worldwide has focused on training and human resource development to compete in the current business environment. Statistics showed that the global hospitality sector has tremendous facts and its direct contribution is about USD 2.3 trillion, which is about 3.1 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 2016. However, the overall contribution of the hospitality industry remains USD 7.6 trillion. By 2027, the global economic impact is forecasted to grow to 11.4 percent of GDP i.e. USD 11.5 trillion. They also said that the hospitality industry offered 3.6 percent of direct employment of the total employment and it reaches at 108 million. An estimated figure of 2027 is tolled for 138 million direct jobs. The indirect job market induced through the hospitality industry is considerably higher and it registered 292 million jobs in 2016 i.e. 9.6 percent of the total employment. The year 2027 forecast is 381 million jobs and it is 11.1 percent of the total employment with annual growth of 2.5 percent.
Historically this has been working in Pakistan from the time of independence. This industry also offers a large margin to the Pakistan’s economy. The Hotel industry leads a large proportion of Pakistan’s revenue. In the beginning there were not many hotels but after lapse of time, the development of local and international hotels in an economy. For example, one of the early local hotels are International brands in hotel industry in the country appear as dominant hotel chain present in largest domain like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Dubai. Pakistan, which is a most beautiful country and a land of heartsease and fluke, attracts thousands of tourists yearly. It has many tourist places with well rendered city and airport hotels. It is also said that before 2008, the industry avail tremendous progress because of fuel by the Pakistani tourism industry. No doubt, the industry in Pakistan is acting as a stimulant the development of economy of Pakistan. Unluckily, the Covid-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on the global hospitality industry, counting hotel and lodging sector too. Governments from around the world imposed travel restrictions, with closed borders and no domestic or international flights. Since the beginning of FY2020, many local and international events have either been postponed or cancelled. The situation has lately enhanced slightly with strong vaccination drives in developed states but globally travel remains low and is not expected to reach pre-Covid levels till FY2022. Amidst the current Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s tourism and hospitality industry struggled greatly, as people were unable to travel within the country or visit Pakistan because of lockdowns and other restriction. The sector witnessed severe losses as many properties had to be shut down. It is said that in pre Covid era, Pakistan projected a boom in both local and international tourism and was preparing to welcome the tourists from across the globe. One of the reasons was that Pakistan topped the various international traveler’s list of best holiday destinations for and more people travelled within the country, mainly to Northern areas. This was further accentuated by several high level visits from dignitaries from around the world. The Government also focused on promoting Pakistan’s soft image as a travel destination and hoped the development would attract more investment in tourism-affiliated businesses and help career opportunities. The Government had also proclaimed plans to develop and promote tourism and relax visa restrictions for foreign travelers. Various local and international chains had also proclaimed expansion and were setting up new hotels and properties to accommodate expected increase in demand. But the onset of Covid-19 and restrictions on worldwide travel has disrupted the government’s plans and the country could not implement the government’s tourism strategy in FY20. There are key players in hotel and lodging industry such as Pearl Continental, Marriott Hotels, Avari Hotels, Serena Hotels, Nishat Hotels and Mövenpick Hotel. Researchers recorded that competition In terms of brand awareness, few of the players presently dominate the market. The travel and tourism companies in Pakistan are offering various international and inbound tourism packages to attract a large number of customers and to gain a more competitive advantage. As Pakistan is emerging as a tourist destination among travelers, various international and national hotel chains have created a strong presence in the market based on their services and offerings. Statistics also identified that USA market has the largest share in global hotel and lodging sector. According to the latest estimates available, USA makes up ~51 percent of the total market with the next largest player, China, possessing just ~9 percent market share. Rental room revenue of USA hotel industry reduced to USD~85bln in FY2020 with a sharp YOY decline of ~49 percent because of travel and other restrictions imposed during Covid-19 lock down. Similarly, the room occupancy rate dropped to 44 percent in FY2020. Going forward, in FY2021 and FY2022, room revenues and occupancy rates are predicted to enhance as travel restrictions ease and vaccination picks up, but still the revenues may not be able to match the revenues of FY2019.