Pub deadlines of Bangalore hits tourism

Think of Bangalore and come up with one thing that this city can attract like the pub culture did in the early 1980s till early 2000s. People from all over the globe thronged Bangalore during vacations to experience the pub culture.

Fast forward to today… the city is dead.

What has killed this city’s zest? Dig deep, and you will find that it is the 11:30pm closure deadline for watering holes in the city. That conclusively was the last nail in Bangalore’s coffin on the tourism front.

Except for the ‘IT tag’ (for business travellers), what has our city to offer general tourists, domestic or international? Nothing!
We have found nothing to replace the waning pub culture in Bangalore to keep the city as a tourism magnet.

This is why, Ashish Kothare, president of the Association of Bars, Restaurants and Pubs, feels, although he cannot say for sure whether the number of tourists coming to the city has come down, there is nothing really in Bangalore that attracts tourists.

“Bangalore doesn’t really offer anything to tourists. There are not many attractions either. The infrastructure, public transport, nightlife — none of these are there. Why should a tourist come to

Bangalore, when it does not have anything nice to offer?” he says. Pointing to Singapore, he says, it has built its tourism sector, and attracts people.

“When people come to Bangalore, it’s mostly for transit. They spend a night here, after having visited other southern cities which have heritage sites,” he says.

“Some associations have asked for the decision (regarding the deadline) to be reconsidered, especially at 4- and 5-star hotels where foreigners generally stay. Although it has been two years since the request was made, a decision is yet to be made,” said a tourism department official.

That may or may not happen.

But even foreign tourists see the negative impact it has had on the tourism sector.

“It’s annoying, especially when we have to go out somewhere, particularly on a weekend. In my home country, England, places are open until 4am. That’s when we feel the pinch here,” says William David Patley, who is visiting Bangalore. “Especially for those working, it is quite early. I feel the number of tourists visiting Bangalore has come down.”

Lizzie White, another British visiting Bangalore, says, “It’s strange especially when you come from somewhere else where the restrictions aren’t there. It should be extended by a couple of hours here.”

Rajeev R, of Jimmy’s Beer Cafe, says, the 11.30pm deadline has sunk in among Bangaloreans that many of them leave the premises at the stroke of 11.30 pm even on occasions when deadlines are extended on special occasions such as New Year’s Eve.

The early deadline has also resulted in drop in business as pub owners says that fewer people, especially, foreigners are visiting the watering holes these days.

Ananth Narayan of Fusion Lounge says there is a 40% drop in foreign customers after the 11.30pm deadline rule, and now after the ban on live music there is a further drop.

The police defend the present deadline fearing law and order problems if the deadline is extended. But they do not buy the theory that closing all bars at a fixed time could lead to tipplers pouring on to the streets at the same time and posing a law and order problem. This theory has been put forth in Brisbane where a similar debate is currently raging over bar closure deadlines to be advanced from 5am to 2am. Additional Commissioner (law and order), Suneel Kumar, says: “We want to bring in discipline among the people and ensure that law and order is maintained.”