Sri Lanka’s tourism sector was thrown into disarray this week as lawmakers flip-flop on plans to relax laws concerning the sale of alcohol in the country.
The country’s finance minister last week issued an order to extend the opening hours at bars, pubs and small restaurants. At the same time, he moved to scrap an archaic law, in force since 1955, which prohibits women from selling or buying alcohol.
But just three days later on Sunday, president Maithripala Sirisena told an election rally that he was not happy about the changes, which he said the powerful Buddhist clergy was opposed to, before ordering for the old laws to be retained. The notification cancelling the finance minister’s extended opening hours rule is expected to be issued once the latter returns from abroad.
“There is some confusion,” Harith Perera, president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators commented. “We were happy and welcomed the (initial) decision,” he said, adding that many tour operators would have already informed their clients of the new opening hours.
Sanath Ukwatte, president of the Hotels’ Association of Sri Lanka, told TTG Asia that they were awaiting the new gazette notification as ordered by the president to ascertain its contents.
“We welcomed last week’s rule allowing extended opening hours for bars and pubs and permitting women to sell liquor. But with the president’s decision to revoke that move, we need to wait and see what the new gazette would say,” he said.
Tourist hotels were unaffected by the old rule as they were permitted to sell alcohol till midnight, and in some cases up to 02.00, but would have benefitted from being able to hire female bartenders.
A state-appointed tourism committee seeking to increase arrivals to Sri Lanka from the current two million to four million pointed to the early closing hours of pubs and restaurants, alongside a lack of entertainment options and night events, as one of the barriers in making Colombo a more lively destination.
