Tourism leaders are sounding the alarm in Indonesia, where two Islamist parties have jointly presented a bill to ban the sale of alcohol throughout the nation of Indonesia.
Illegally distilled spirits have caused a few deaths over the years, and last year, the country instituted Ministerial Regulation No. 6/2015, which restricted the sale of beer and some pre-mixed alcoholic drinks to supermarkets, forbidding the nation’s convenience stores from selling them.
Now some elements of the government want prohibition to be total. Hotel and restaurant owners are warning that their industry may collapse if foreign visitors are not able to drink beer or cocktails.
"If the bill is passed, our business will be done," the head of a hotel and restaurant organization told the Jakarta Post. "The tourists, who mostly come from Europe, drink alcohol all the time. It will be very inconvenient for them if they can't find alcohol."
An estimated 10.41 international visitors go to Indonesia, the fifth-most populous country on Earth, every year. Bali, one of the most popular resort destinations in the world, is a Hindu-majority island where a beer costs a little over US$1. Many of the most devoted visitors to Bali are Australians, who fly in to party and suntan.
Deliberations over the bill are ongoing.
Better make that next drink a double.
