Islamabad  - The trend of arranging outdoor Iftar gatherings with friends and families is gaining popularity in twin cities as various restaurants and international food chains offer affordable deals during
Ramazan. Local hotels, restaurants and food chains attract the general public with family deals that combine both the food and the ambiance for celebrating Iftar parties.
The concept of arranging Iftar gatherings at homes is now turning into outdoor Iftar dinners in a way to share with families and friends. “Iftar gatherings are a way to stay in touch with family members and promote kinship,” said Muhammad Rizwan, a university student.
“The atmosphere and gatherings encourage us to arrange Iftar parties at restaurants, it’s all about going out on Iftar, sitting with friends and have memorable moments,” he said.
These Iftar parties also serve as recreational activity and give people a break from daily routine. Besides family gatherings, outdoor Iftar parties are also emerging as a potential business for hotels and restaurants for getting maximum profits.
Such arrangements serve as a social event for people and also satisfy their concern of status symbol, said an official of a local event management company. Keeping in view the current rising temperature, it is difficult for women to prepare Iftar at homes and many families prefer to have Iftar at hotels and restaurants.
The hotel and restaurants offer special Ramazan packages for families ranging from affordable rates to expensive ones depending on the variety and quality of food items.
At the time of Iftar, the people hardly get space to sit outdoor in restaurants, which is reflective of the popularity of the trend of outdoor Iftar parties. Talking to APP, manager of a famous restaurant in
PWD Sardar Haroon said that many people prefer to arrange Iftar parties in hotels especially in hot weather.
“Around 80 to 100 people daily come to our hotel for advance booking of their Iftar receptions to avoid any inconvenience,” he added.
Representative of another hotel Muhammad Akmal said the trend of outdoor Iftars had increased manifold during this Ramazan as compared to last year.