PORVORIM
Emphasising the need to provide better safety, facilities and information to tourists in the State, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte suggested Tourism Convenience Centres which would provide various services available to tourists.“There are a lot of complaints about beach cleanliness from stakeholders, tourists and the general public through WhatsApp messages, photos and videos.”
“There is no proper monitoring from the department too. The present contractor entrusted with the work of beach cleaning is not doing a satisfactory job. Beach cleaning is a core requirement of tourism.”
“Besides beach cleaning, the issue is also about illegal touts, harassment of tourists, safety features of watersports activities and safety of tourists. All this needs to be looked into and the tourism department needs to prepare an integrated module. In this integrated module, we will have to provide information assistance to the tourist, helpline number, an app for tourists and a Tourism Convenience Centre,” said Khaunte.
The minister said every beach needs to have a Tourism Convenience Centre which would have a 24-hour Information Counter, washrooms/toilets, lockers and seating arrangements.
“We have been talking about these requirements all these years but nothing much has been done along the 105-km stretch of the State’s coastal belt. We will prepare one module and try to implement it in at least two beaches and if found successful, it will be replicated on other beaches too,” said Khaunte.
Commenting on bottles strewn on beaches, Khaunte said several complaints have been received by the tourism department and it is in the process of enacting some laws.
“The excise department will be requested to advise bar and restaurant owners not to allow tourists to take bottles on the beaches. Also, those returning bottles to restaurant owners or sellers should be given incentives,” said Khaunte.
He also informed that the tourism department had met police officials to discuss various issues and illegalities on beaches.
“Unless illegalities are checked, tourists will not feel safe on beaches. Additional security guards, if required, will be recruited to provide security to tourists,” said Khaunte.
“A model shack and model beach management are the need of the hour. Tourism is the backbone of Goa’s economy. The tourism department will do everything needed to attract good tourists and increase the revenue of the government, taking all stakeholders into confidence,” said Khaunte.
