Islamabad: International outlets see slump in business

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: The international fast food businesses have suffered a significant slump with foreigners in particular and locals in general staying away on account of security threats. A manager at one such outlet told Daily Times on Monday that sales had been badly affected, especially after the September 20 attack on Marriott Hotel. He pointed out that whatever foreign nationals there were in Islamabad at the moment, were staying indoors. “They do not even consider going out for groceries,” he said. The restaurant official added that 70 percent of the foreigners and 50 percent of the locals now preferred not to come to restaurants. “The number of customers continues to go down with each passing day,” he said. Waqar Ali, once a regular visitor to fast food outlets, said situation of law and order had gone from bad to worse and business activities shrunk due to political instability and security fears. The sense of fear among people is evident, said a manager at Melody Food Park. “Life is dear to everyone, so people are not taking any risks,” he remarked, conceding that their sales too had been affected. He said Melody Food Park until recently attracted hundreds of people every day but now the situation had become topsy-turvy. “Even on weekends, we have very few diners coming in,” he said. Islamabad now has a string of international fast food chains, all of which had been doing roaring business. Their officials are now hoping for the security situation to improve and quickly so. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_4