VIJAYAWADA:
With an eye on boosting tourism and also to help people visiting various places in the late hours have access to proper food, the hotels and restaurants across the State will hereafter be permitted to remain open till midnight. However, the extended timings are not allowed for bars and restaurants.
To boost tourism and also as a means of generating revenue, the government decided to extend the closing time of hotels and restaurants till 12 am from 10.30 pm, according to GO MS 25 issued by the labour department on Tuesday. Tourism, Language and Culture Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena held discussions with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in this regard.
“As the move has the potential to improve tourism and boost the business of restaurants and food court vendors, the GO was issued,’’ an official in the labour department said.
Welcoming the decision, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation CEO Himanshu Shukla said, “Extended working hours would necessitate additional manpower, which would increase income for the workers. The revenue generated by hotel owners will also go up and, therefore, the per capita income will rise. Because of fruitful discussions with the labour department, this was possible.”
Another reason cited by the government authorities in extending closing hours of hotels and restaurants is the need to increase focus on ‘nightlife’. A concept that is promoted to boost tourism, the running of hotels and restaurants will provide an opportunity for people, particularly those doing jobs at odd hours, to enjoy nightlife. “All this contributes to revenue generation for the government in the form of taxes,’’ an official reasoned.
