The Hotel Owners’ Association in the city has urged the authorities to permit members to operate their establishments till 11.30 p.m. daily.
The association members submitted a memorandum to the Commissioner of Police recently and said that the hotels and restaurants in the city are entirely dependent on tourist inflow for revenue generation.
They said a majority of the tourists who visit the places of interest around Mysuru tend to return to the city only late in the night but find that hotels and restaurants are closed. There is also an increase in train and bus traffic to the city from other centres as a result of which the tourist and travellers’ arrival to the city does not abate even at midnight.
Hence the association members appealed to the police that a rule stipulating the closure of hotels at 10.30 p.m. should be relaxed to allow the hotels to function at least 11.30 p.m. Many of the tourists who reach the city late walk in at 10.30 p.m. and they are now being turned away due to the prevailing rules and this was not only affecting the tourists but creating an impression that the city was not tourist-friendly when it comes to eateries.
Drawing attention to a new circular issued by the Department of Labour, Government of Karnataka, the Association said it has permitted any organisation with 10 or more members to function round the clock. C. Narayana Gowda, president of the Association, said bars and liquor outlets are permitted to remain open till 11.30 p.m. and hence the same rule should apply for hotels and restaurants.