PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's budget for the year 2022-23 has envisioned a tourism plan for Goa, which veers away from popular beaches towards forests and rurales of the State, even as he promised to devise an 'eco-tourism' policy for the State aimed at increased participation of the local population in order to boost employment.
Sawant in his budget speech also sought to extend Goa's tourism footprint to the Western Ghats, while also proposing development of model villages for tourism promotion.
"One of the priority and focus areas of my government is to make efforts to boost eco-tourism in the hinterland, especially in and around incredibly rich forests and wildlife areas of state," Sawant said.
"For this purpose, we will come up with a “Eco-tourism Policy” which will lay emphasis on active participation of local people to provide them gainful employment opportunities. Adequate publicity of eco-tourism sites and facilities will also be made through various platforms, including social media," Sawant added.
The budget speech also proposed to develop hinterlands in the Western ghats through the eco-tourism vehicle.
"I propose to develop Goan hinterlands through development of ecotourism and nature education park for Western Ghats at Selaulim and trekking corridors and camping areas at Dudhsagar along with supporting infrastructure," the Chief Minister said.
In a bid to increase tourist footprint to Goa's villages, the Chief Minister said that the government would look at development of model villages, which he said would "assist various villages based on their potential such as demographics, natural attractions and tourism development. For this purpose, a provision of Rs. 4 crores has been made".
Sawant also said that a provision of Rs 5 crore had been made to promote "international chartered flights in the state by bearing a part of parking and landing fees at Dabolim international airport".
The budget speech also proposed construction of 'Hospitality and Skill development Academy' at Farmagudi for providing training courses to Goan youth thereby increasing their employability and also ensuring a well-trained pool of labour force as per industry specifications.
The budget proposes to allocate Rs 247.16 crore for the tourism sector, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic, which led to only 26 lakh tourists visiting the state in 2020.
The budget has also allocated Rs. 2.50 crore in order to ensure that the Goa Tourism Board, which is entrusted with planning, policy making, strategizing and overseeing the implementation of various programmes related to tourism in the State runs in a full-fledged manner.
Under the ‘Tourist Guide Certification Scheme’ the speech also proposes to increase the base of tourist guides to around 1,000 guides over the next two years. "For this purpose, a provision of Rs. 2 crores has been made," Sawant said.
Sawant also announced the allocation of Rs 51.74 crore under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive of the Union Ministry of Tourism for the development of infrastructure and amenities at Basilica of Bom Jesus along with various other churches in Old Goa.
Sawant also said that part of the funds received from the Centre towards '60th Anniversary of Goa's Liberation celebrations', would be utilized for undertaking projects showcasing rich Goan heritage and culture, which includes developing a digital museum at recently inaugurated Aguada Jail, restoration of Cabo-de-rama Fort on the lines of Aguada Jail, construction of 'Goa Haat' along with developing a mobile application for sale of local handicrafts and for various tourism infrastructure development projects, for which Rs 80 crores has been earmarked for Goa Tourism Development Corporation.
