One of the top Pakistani hotelier and businessman, Byram D. Avari, 69, is not scared of terrorism, political uncertainty and a government that is piling up debt with each passing day. He has already seen many upheavals and insists that Pakistan's economy will only grow, grow and grow!

So as the chairman of Avari Hotels Limited, he has increased investment in new hotels despite huge losses to the industry in recent years. At a time when many hotels are struggling to remain afloat and many new projects have been put on hold, he launched AvariXpress in Islamabad on July 7. And by the end of 2011, he intends to open doors of the country's first all-suites hotel in the federal capital.

"There is a lot of demand for quality-accommodation in the country," he told The News in an interview. "AvariXpress is a boutique hotel. This is exactly like a five-star hotel, but provides limited services."

Avari, who plans to open several other boutique hotels across the country, said there were ways to save costs, while offering luxuries.

"We don't have big receptions, banqueting halls or a number of restaurants, much spending on advertisements or a doorman."

Despite the additional security expenses, hotel industry in the country has prospered, he said. "If you look at the growth graph, it falls down at times, but overall it continues to go up."

While he did not disclose the size of investment, Avari Islamabad appears as a huge investment in these tough economic times.

Being built over 10,500 square yards piece of prime land with 417 suits spread across 25 floors, Avari said, it will offer the six-star luxury experiences to customers.
Hotels pay a number of taxes some of which do not make any sense, he said. "There is no point of having these menu and laundry taxes and Rs1,000 per function that the city government collects. They do not contribute any substantial amount to the taxes anyway."

Unlike other businessmen, who remain skeptical about the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) involvement in the management of Pakistan's economy, Avari said that the country would reap benefits in the long-run if recommendations made by global donors complete successfully.

"The BRIC nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, all have implemented the IMF theory," he said. "Our leadership should have the political will to do the same."

He believes that the rupee would "strengthen" in the coming months as the international assistance starts to trickle in. "And why should we be worried about being in debt? The United States of America is the largest borrower and they are doing just fine."

Besides hotels, Avari Group has interest in real estate, pharmaceuticals and air travel. A few years ago, his group was also one of the only three Pakistani manufacturers of liquor.

"We sold beach brewery four years back. I was paying five million rupees in duties just on one truck carrying Rs500,000 worth of products," he said. "I just wanted to pull out of that business."

Avari Travel Agencies is Pakistan's sales agent for some leading airlines, including India's Kingfisher and Canadian Airlines. Aviation and hospitality businesses go hand-in-hand, he said.

"Karachi used to be a transit destination for passengers heading to Japan and Australia," Avari recalled. "Authorities increased taxes like that on jet fuel, thinking nothing will happen and all the traffic shifted to neighboring countries."