Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Wednesday formally acknowledged a drop in tourist arrivals in the State, at a meeting with industry stakeholders and agreed to address the issue by taking them on board.
Travel and hospitality stakeholders are now expected to submit a comprehensive report on the issue in a month’s time, said Serafino Cota, who represents small and medium hoteliers on the coastal belt, after the meeting on Wednesday.
“The problems will be looked into jointly by the Goa government after taking into confidence all the tourism bodies and stakeholders,” Mr. Ajgaonkar said.
At the meeting, stakeholders led by president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, Savio Messias, urged Mr. Ajgaonkar to address issues like harassment of tourists, nuisance caused by begging, unreasonable taxi charges by local operators, high rate of Goods and Services Tax, littering of beaches and unruly tourists drinking in public places.
They also pointed out problems with the promotion and marketing strategy adopted by the State, leading to no returns in foreign tourist arrivals. Some stakeholders questioned the wisdom of indiscriminate road shows held abroad by the Ministry and failure to tap new markets, Mr. Cota said.
Mr. Ajgaonkar, in turn, said that the Ministry would review the State’s marketing strategy by taking the stakeholders into confidence before drawing one to tap new markets. High cost of visas was also discussed, Mr. Cota said, but the Minister said the issue was in Centre’s domain.
The Minister said he will take into consideration Mr. Cota’s suggestion that the State must come out with a partial subsidy of visa payment for foreign tourists, provided she/he stays in a registered hotel.
