MARGAO
Asserting the promotion of unauthorised and illegal hotels and homestays by the government will completely destroy the tourism industry, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has urged the government to take strict measures to ensure that the illegal trade and other activities are completely wiped out and the tourism sector is revived with transparency which will eventually help the State to earn revenue.
He said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant must ensure that only those who are registered with Goa tourism department are allowed to operate following strict Covid protocol, adding it was important that the government takes steps to ban touts and bring transparency in the tourism sector.
He said the recent admission by the Tourism Minister that almost 1.60 crore tourists stayed illegally in the last season clearly exposes the fact that there is no control over the illegal hotel and homestay business in Goa.
“The hoteliers in Goa who run their business by following all the procedures, guidelines and by paying tax to the government are finding it difficult to carry on with their business. The illegal hotel business does not bring any revenue to the Government,” Kamat said.
The Opposition Leader pointed out that after the outbreak of Covid pandemic, the Cabinet meeting held on 8th April 2020 had revealed a data that total 675 tourists were stranded in Goa after the nationwide lockdown was announced.
“This figure included 86 domestic tourists and 589 foreigners. Surprisingly, the information put in public domain by Goa Airport states that almost 9500 foreign tourists were sent back to their native countries in almost 49 flights till date. This is in contradiction to the data discussed by the Cabinet. It is clear that almost 9000 foreign tourists stayed in Goa illegally in unauthorised hotels. This figure is 15 times more than the figures shown by the Government,” he added.
Saying that Goa receives 80 percent domestic tourists and 20 percent foreigners every year, Kamat said the above data of the huge difference in figures of foreign tourists staying in authorised and unauthorised hotels and homestays appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. “The actual figures of domestic tourists if added to the data will clearly indicate that almost 70 percent hotel and homestay businesses are run illegally,” he added.
