The Hindu Business Line : Kerala hoteliers seek `essential service' tag

THE Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) has appealed to the Government to treat the hotel industry as part of the small-scale sector and demanded that hotels be notified an `essential service'.

Addressing a press conference in the city today, Mr K. Kuriakose, President, KHRA, requested the State Government to give hotels some of the concessions enjoyed by the small-scale sector, such as power at concessional rates. Given the vital role hotel's play in promoting Kerala as a tourist destination, they should be considered an essential service and must be exempted from bandhs and hartals, he said.

He appealed to all political parties to help ensure that hotels are not affected by such agitations.

Mr G. Sudhiesh Kumar, General Secretary, KHRA, appealed to political parties to refrain from launching agitations in and around places of tourist interest as such protests could drive tourists away and thus have an adverse impact on the tourism sector. For instance, the recent spate of protests over the ownership of Halcyon Palace at Kovalam caused some concern among tourists visiting the beach resort. The tourism industry in Kovalam could be affected if such agitations continue there, he added.

The hotel industry in Kerala directly employs over 12 lakh people and also provides indirect employment to another 12 lakh people, said Mr Kuriakose. In the light of these figures, the State Government should establish a separate fund for the welfare of hotel employees, he declared.

The KHRA also demanded that the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act be amended to make it more relevant to today's circumstances, said Mr Kuriakose.

Many hotels in Kerala are facing harassment under some of the archaic provisions of this law and thus there is an urgent need to improve it, he added. Similarly, the KHRA has also demanded that the hotel industry be provided representation on the Central Committee for Food Standards.