Hotels, restaurants and florists expect brisk sales riding on people's zeal for a new beginning with the New Year celebrations.

Both big and small hotels based in Dhaka, Chittagong and popular tourist destinations Cox' Bazar and Sylhet decorated their premises for an eventful night and day.

However, the exact sales figures on the night alone were hard to come by. But officials said every hotel and restaurant in the major cities were booked and doing brisk business.

La Vinci in Dhaka offered a barbecue night and live music for its guests, said Tapash Ghosh, marketing and operations manager.

Some hoteliers, however, rented out their venues to private parties to allow them to arrange cultural shows with local and foreign artists.

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel rented out ballrooms and pool-side premises to private parties, said MA Awal, director of sales and marketing for the popular hotel. Sonargaon Hotel expected to earn Tk 50 lakh last night alone, up from Tk 40 lakh last year, he said. Awal also said other posh hotels in the same category are more or less expecting the same business.

Away from Dhaka, hotels in popular tourist attractions such Cox's Bazar and Sylhet were also busy.

Ocean Paradise Hotel in Cox's Bazar were preparing for cultural shows on its rooftop with local artists and a dance troupe, according to Rajibur Rahman Sarker, assistant general manager of the hotel.

On the New Year's Eve, Mermaid hosted a beach party in Pechar Island, displayed fireworks and had a 'meditation session', according to Rajeev Ahmed, head of marketing of the hotel.

Rose View Hotel in Sylhet arranged a music show for the guests. There was also special dinner as well as ghazals for them. Today the hotel will offer special buffet with international dishes, said its General Manager Nasimul Ghani.

He said their earning could reach Tk 12 lakh, which was Tk 9 lakh last year. Florists in the capital and other parts of the country also expect good sales on the eve of the New Year and on the first day of 2012.

Naser Gani Chowdhuri, who owns a flower shop named Rajanigandha in Jamalkhan in Chittagong, said although they have no clear picture of the sales, flowers worth Tk 1.5 crore could be sold across the country on this occasion.

“Alone in Chittagong, florists have bought flowers worthTk 50 lakh toTk 60 lakh. Flowers worth Tk 25 lakh have also been imported. But this is not the whole picture as we do not have aggregated data,” he said.

Belial Hossain, a wholesaler of roses at Shahbagh flower market in the capital, said their sales are good. Street vendors at Shahbagh and other parts of the city say they have already received a good response from the customers.

Bachchu Khan, an importer, said they have imported roses, lilies and gerbera from China, orchids from Thailand and marigolds from India. His shop sold out most of the imported flowers yesterday.