Seeks sops for Kovalam, Kumarakom, Fort Kochi
-COPY.jpg "Department SOS to spare wine, beer")
A file picture of Kovalam beach. (Photo: DC)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rattled by the state’s liquor ban, the Tourism Department has formally requested the state government to exempt tourism establishments across the state from the ban on wine and beer. The Department has also sought for more generous concessions, including the right to serve hard liquor, for properties in major destinations like Kumarakom, Kovalam, Fort Kochi and Wayanad.
A top Department source said that the Tourism Directorate and the principal secretary’s office are flooded with panic calls from tour operators who have already sold Kerala packages and are now confused about the state’s liquor policy.
The Department has said that only hotels and resorts that meet certain norms should be granted beer and wine licences. “The details will be worked out soon. What we have generally recommended is that the exemption should be restricted to properties with a certain number of rooms and those which bring in a certain amount of foreign exchange,” a top Tourism Department official said.
Tourism minister A P Anil Kumar is yet to formally respond to the emergency request. The Department has informed the minister that the revenue from tourism could take a massive hit as a consequence of prohibition. It has also been noted that a liquor ban will sound the death-knell of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) tourism.
( Source : dc )
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