Seven hotels and resorts run by the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) — the provincial body that manages public tourism properties — finished 2024-25 deep in the red, according to the Auditor General of Pakistan’s audit for that year. Combined spending reached Rs42.1 million while earnings were only Rs19.7 million, producing a Rs22.3 million loss for the Sindh government.
The figures sit uneasily beside the province’s busy leisure calendar. Sindh tourism resorts are meant to welcome visitors and return income to the provincial treasury; the audit instead shows operating costs outrunning what guests paid.
Keenjhar Lake resorts hit hardest
The widest gap was at facilities near Keenjhar Lake in Thatta district. Those sites took in Rs9.073 million and spent Rs22 million. The lake itself remains a major day-trip draw: an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people arrive every week, most travelling from Karachi. High footfall has not translated into enough booking and service income to cover the resorts’ bills.
Other STDC sites also short of revenue
The audit also flagged losses at Rooplo Kolhi Resort, Marvi Rest House, Haleji Lake Resort, Baqar Lake Resort, Ranikot Resort and Lal Shahbaz Resort in Sehwan. STDC also runs Sambar Inn Hotel in Larkana and a motel at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh; yearly cost and income figures for those two properties were not set out in the same material.
STDC was set up in August 1991 under Sindh’s tourism department. After the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010 shifted many cultural and tourist sites — and their attached properties — to the provinces, more of that portfolio sat with the Sindh government. The corporation’s website says it works with about 100 registered tour operators. Even so, the 2024-25 numbers show several Sindh tourism resorts still failing to match outgoings with takings.
Corporation disputes ongoing losses
STDC Managing Director Syed Fayyaz Shah rejected the idea that the hotels and resorts are still losing money. He told reporters that earlier financial strain had eased after a computerised management system was introduced and that online room bookings had lifted revenue. He did not share fresh accounts to show that the units now break even or turn a profit, so the current balance sheet remains unclear beside the audited year.
Public resorts that stay unprofitable leave a direct claim on provincial funds that might otherwise support maintenance, staffing or wider tourism promotion. Until STDC publishes updated income and expense totals that can be compared with the Auditor General’s 2024-25 findings, it is hard to judge whether digital bookings have closed the gap.
Aasan alfaaz mein
STDC ke saat hotels aur resorts ne 2024-25 mein Rs22.3 million ka nuqsan diya. Unhone Rs19.7 million kamaye aur Rs42.1 million kharch kiye. Keenjhar Lake ke resorts sab se zyada peechay rahe, jab ke hafte mein hazaron log wahan aate hain. STDC kehte hain ab online booking se kamai barhi hai, lekin naye hisaab abhi saaf nahi diye.
