Proposal to sell beer and wine to tourists at beach shacks

Tourism Minister plans to attract international tourists by allowing beer and wine sales at beach shacks.

Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh has announced that the State government is having plans to attract international tourists in a big way as part of which a proposal is on the cards to allow the sale and consumption of beer and wine at shacks to be constructed on the beaches.

He was addressing the gathering after unfurling the Blue Flag at Rushikonda Beach here on Monday. The proposal was taken to the notice of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and a decision was expected soon. The objective was to attract international tourists by making beer and wine available at the shacks on the lines of permits given to 5 Star hotels. It was also expected to increase the tourist footfall.

A New Tourism Policy was brought out, and tourism was given ‘industry status’ to attract more entrepreneurs. “Tourists visit beaches for fun and not just to munch ‘muri mixture’ or to have a cup of coffee or tea. It’s high time that the tour operators are permitted to host cocktail parties at sea to attract tourists,” opined Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu at a recent tourism investors’ meet in Visakhapatnam. He, however, hastened to add that he had spoken in his personal capacity, and not as a public representative.