Liquor ban: Curb last nail in the coffin of Kerala tourism, says V Venu
Thiruvananthapuram: For the state tourism sector already reeling under the impact of the liquor ban clamped by the former UDF government, the Supreme Court’s diktat to shut down bars along the highways could prove fatal. “This is the final nail in the coffin of Kerala tourism,” is how tourism principal secretary Dr V. Venu responded. “Any recovery from such a state is well nigh impossible,” he said. A survey conducted by the tourism department on the UDF’s excise policy had estimated that the rate of growth of tourist arrivals had fallen from 20 percent to 13 percent. It also felt that the sector would lose Rs 7000 crore as a result of prohibition. “And now the Supreme Court has delivered the knockout punch,” Dr Venu said.
“All the five-star hotels in Kochi are long the highway. We surmise that 35-40 percent of occupancy would be affected,” the principal secretary said. The losses, he said, would be on a far mightier scale. Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said not just hotels and restaurants, even allied employment like tourist taxis and guides would be affected. “With this, our dominance in conference tourism too will be shattered. I have been told that even domestic conferences have been either cancelled or put on hold after the SC order,” he added.
KTDC’s business has already been hit; 29 of its 40 beer parlours had to down shutters after the SC verdict. It is estimated that there would be a fall of at least Rs 5 crore in KTDC’s profits. In addition, the state would have to shell out more than Rs 4 crore for the redeployment of the 500-odd employees of the 29 KTDC parlours that had been shut down. According to the minister, plans to renovate KTDC properties would have to be dropped. Dr Venu said that the SC verdict would be particularly harmful for the state.
“In other big cities like Jaipur or Hyderabad or Mumbai, highways do not enter the city areas. In a way, therefore, these big tourism destinations are spared of some of the severe effects of the decision,” Dr Venu said. Nonetheless, he said that there could be some relief for the sector if the state government revokes the UDF excise policy. If so, major destinations like Kovalam, Kumarakaom, and Wayanad, which do not come within the distance prescribed by the SC, will get their beer parlours converted into bars. The industry is desperate for a solution. “The governments should come up with an option without dishonouring the Supreme Court verdict. The states and the Centre should approach the court through the president in this issue, which actually falls in the jurisdiction of the executive,” said Abraham George, the president of Kerala Travel Mart.
