(COLOMBO) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has stepped in to solve a ‘Happy Hour’ alcohol row between the hospitality industry and a local authority.
A controversial communiqué issued by the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) late last week sought to end the ‘Happy Hour’ promotion carried out in many licensed hotels and restaurants.
The NATA argued that the promotion is a price discount offered to customers and that such a practice is against the law.
President Wickremesinghe had raised concerns over the NATA move and questioned the motive to enforce this law without consulting industry stakeholders and others, officials said.
President Wickremesinghe had said that to uplift the ailing economy the development of tourism and entertainment sectors is vital and that this kind of counter-productive moves could hamper such efforts.
A controversial NATA communiqué raised eyebrows of many in the tourism and hospitality industry as well as the law enforcement agencies such as the Excise Department, who were not in favour of the move
