PANAJI : In yet another repercussion of the ban on the liquor outlets along the highways by Supreme Court, the starred hotels within the distance of 500 mts from the state as well as national highways will suffer a ‘snowball effect’, first losing their bar licence, then the star classification and subsequently, all the benefits linked to the central government schemes.
The guidelines of the human resource division of the Union ministry of tourism states that a bar licence is necessary for 4, 5, 5 star deluxe, heritage classic and heritage grand categories, among many other requirements such as clearance certificate from the municipal health officer, no objection certificate from the fire service department and so on.
A highly placed official of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation said the state tourism department is covered by the guidelines of the Union tourism ministry.
“Yes, there exists a guideline of the central government, which maintains that the premium status to the hotels would be based on their possession of the bar licence,” the official stated, pointing out, “We are interpreting this aspect in the light of the March 31 order of the Supreme Court.”
As per the GTDC website, there are altogether 63 star category hotels in Goa, besides two heritage category hotels. The website further maintains that there are 21 hotels in the state classified under three-star categories, six hotels classified under four-star categories and 12 hotels under five-star categories.
The executive member of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa Ralph D’Souza told this daily that the termination of the bar licences of the starred hotels in Goa, which are located within 500 mts from the edge of the state or the national highway are certain to lose their bar licence.
“Once that happens, they would automatically be derecognised of their star status, and if that happens, they would be ineligible for central government schemes like income-tax rebate or subsidies for expansion, which can only be availed by the starred hotels by possessing a certification from the Union ministry of tourism,” he maintained, adding that in such a case, the owners of the affected starred hotels would only be able to run them as lodges or guesthouses.
Speaking further, D’Souza said the government will have to amend the Goa Tourism and Trade Act, under which the state department of tourism act, so as to give relief to the affected starred and heritage hotels.
A city hotelier and the convenor of the Goa Highway Affected Liquor Vendors Association, Gaurish Dhond confirming the detrimental effect of the particular order on the state starred as well as heritage hotels located along the state as well as the national highways, said the owners who have invested lot of money in such hotels would face huge losses.
“Now it is up to the Supreme Court to amend its order and give respite to such hotels,” he added, arguing that the people coming to starred hotels are either foreign clientele or elite class domestic visitors. “And for them, it is mandatory for the hotels to have facilities like spa, swimming pool, bar and restaurant and so on,” he observed, noting that it should be understood in the first place that the profile of the clientele of starred hotels, who would not mind having a beer at Rs 200 to Rs 500, is quite different from the drivers of the trucks who have a drink on the roadside liquor outlet, and could cause accidents.
Incidentally, although most of the five-star hotels in Goa are located along the seaside, in the village areas of Goa, the four-star hotels in general are in the proximity of the state as well as the national highways running across the state.
