PANAJI
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Sunday said that online services will be introduced for the registration and renewal of permission of all types of hotels, guesthouses, watersports and other tourism-related activities as a step towards “ease of business.”
“Businessmen should concentrate on their businesses rather than keeping themselves busy with government-related paperwork,” the minister said, who has promised to usher in reforms in the tourism sector.
Khaunte said that as a minister holding Labour and Information Technology he had introduced online procedures in the respective departments. Now he has got an additional portfolio of tourism. He said he will use the good offices of the Chief Minister to launch the online services for the tourism department.
For registration, renewals for all types of hotels, guesthouses, water sports and other activities earlier the stakeholders had to come to the tourism department with a request for certificates.
Keeping minimum paperwork and having the concept of a digital locker will ensure that people get certification and registration easily at their doorsteps, he said.
He said more information will be shared “as we launch the service.” The minister promised that the people will easily be able to get the certification process at their doorsteps.
The tourism sector suffered during the pandemic and is still yet to recover fully. The decline in tourist footfalls led to stakeholders losing out on business.
When the pandemic situation improved and they had just started recovering, the Russia-Ukraine crisis hit thus hitting the charter season.
Even though domestic tourists crowded the beaches, those operating beach shacks said that this section of the visitors doesn’t help them to sustain their businesses.
