PANAJI
The Goa Chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has called for a clean up of the beach, alcohol and gambling tinge that the tourism industry is stained with in a 'white paper' it released on Saturday.
Goa should diversify its tourism template just as competing destinations in South Asia are doing like in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and other destinations, it said in its white paper.
It also suggests that the focus to push Goa as a destination for beaches, alcohol and casinos has to be relooked.
In the current pandemic situation, the white paper suggests dedication a portion of the tourism ministry's budget for prompt Covid-19 testing and dealing with tourists affected. It also advises studying and picking up aspects of the models adopted by Portugal, Germany and the Scandanavian countries to promote tourism.
The white paper also cautions that tourists are travelling to other destinations in South Asia and pin points diversification of the tourism offerings by these countries as the common factor of their success.
The CII white paper - - 'Accelerating the Goan Economy - A White Paper' also says that Goa should shift to high-end tourism from the current 'mass tourism'.
Weddings at exclusive and picturesque locations such as the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, Christian Art Museum and the refurbished Reis Magos Fort is one option the white paper suggests to scale up Goa's quality of tourism.
It has also suggested setting up a think-tank to identify tourism products to attract high-end visitors.
