Ker Tourism Minister wants re-look on closure of liquor bars

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 18 (PTI) Kerala TourismMinisterA C Moideen today sought a "relook" on closure of liquor barsin tourist hotspots in the state which has seen a fall inarrivals causing a loss to the tourism industry.  The previous UDF government had decided to close down700-odd liquor bars attached to hotels below five starcategories in 2014.   Kerala has seen a severe dip in tourist arrivals andfallin revenues following the closure of bars. "The present excise policy has dealt a severe blow tothetourism industry in Kerala," Moideen told reporters here. "There has been a severe fall in the growth of touristarrivals in the state. With hotels not serving liquor,conferences have come down and the state is losing out," hesaid, adding, liquor should be made available in bars intourist hotspots. Tourism Department’s report has been submitted toChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said. In Kerala, while the domestic arrival of touriststouched124,65,571 in 2015, a growth of 6.59 per cent, figure forforeign tourist arrival was 9,77,479 (5.86 per cent growth),he said. In 2014, domestic tourist arrivals stood at 116,95,411(7.71 per cent) against 9,23,366 (7.60 per cent) ofinternational visitors, while in 2013 it was 108,57,811 (7.75per cent) and foreign tourists 8,58,143 (8.12 per cent). During 2014, the state earned Rs 6,398.93 crore inforeign exchange earnings showing a 15 per cent increase,while it was Rs 6,949.88 crore last year with a dip of 8.6 percent. The total revenue generated from tourism (direct andindirect) in 2014 was Rs 24,885.44 crore (12.11 per cent)while in 2015 it was Rs 26,689.63 crore (7.25 per cent). PTIUD BN AARNTR