Thiruvananthapuram: The ban on liquor has already cast a shadow on Kerala Tourism’s ambitious 365-day ‘Visit Kerala 2015’ programme to be launched on Vishu, April 15. CGH Earth, a top industry player reputed globally for its ‘low carbon footprint’ properties, has put on hold its plan to start a heritage resort in Wayanad.

The resort would have been constructed using locally-sourced materials and local skills.

“The target crowd was cosmopolitan, mostly young professionals from Bangalore. It will be a handicap to deny them bar facilities,” said Jose Dominic of CGH Earth.

“Since we have no plans to upgrade it to a 5-star resort, we have put the proposal on hold,” he added. According to Mr Dominic, the restriction of bar license to 5-star hotels is “a negation of the Keralan model of tourism development”. He describes this model as pivoted around small, experiential and local properties that smack of Kerala flavor.

Mr Dominic said the liquor policy was “a slap on the face of the Keralan entrepreneur”. He said the ban would “devastate” MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) tourism. Ironically, a major objective of ‘Visit Kerala’ is to promote the state as a MICE destination. “Now if a resort wants to hold a major conference, the only option is to get hold of a one-day licence,” Mr Dominic said. “But at `50,000 a day, the cost is prohibitive,” he added.

The president of Kerala Confederation of Tourism Industry, E M Najeeb, the man who mooted the ‘Visit Kerala’ concept, is muted in his optimism.

“We had to do something like ‘Visit Kerala’ to mitigate the damage of liquor ban,” he said. He said the ‘beer and wine’ and one-day licenses can help to save the situation “only to an extent”. Dominic, too, said that ‘Visit Kerala’ is an aggressive attempt, despite the existence of a liquor ban, to tell the world that the state continues to be liberal, participative and inclusive.