KOCHI: The Kerala government’s new liquor policy, which is likely to be announced this week, has created a scare in the tourism industry following indications that it may link the licence to serve liquor in star hotels to the number of rooms they have.
As per the proposal, the liquor licence would be granted only to three-star hotels with a minimum of 30 rooms, four-star hotels with 40 rooms, and five-star with 50 rooms.
A senior official at the excise department said the new policy would be unveiled this week itself. But he added that though several proposals are under consideration based on suggestions and recommendations from various stakeholders, the final decision would be known only when the policy is unveiled.
Tourism players, meanwhile, have aired their concerns on the likely changes saying if the licence to serve liquor is linked to the number of rooms, it would cause unnecessary disruption to the tourism industry.
“Tourism could be termed as Kerala’s most successful sector. Remember the time when the policy said bars would be allowed only for four-star and five-star hotels. It hurt tourism so badly that these regulations were withdrawn by the next government. Now, the rule makers are trying to hit back with spite,” said Jose Dominic, a tourism industry veteran.
He termed the plans to link the liquor licence with the number of rooms as “queer logic”.
Ajay Kumar KS, an approved tour guide who caters to German tourists, said tourists, especially international tourists, come to Kerala not to drink. “A large majority of Germans, however, can’t think of an evening without beer or wine. There should not be any restriction on serving at least beer and wine in every location where foreigners stay, irrespective of the number of rooms,” he said.
Dominic, a former member of the National Tourism Advisory Council, said the proposed policy would also kill ‘heritage’ as a category. “The policymakers seem to to have forgotten completely the Kerala story of tourism. The story of how local small entrepreneurs did what they could which was small and in a manner which they knew which was local, giving the Kerala destination a unique identity. Now, the excise policy is trying to reverse all that,” he said.