GOA CALLING: TOURISM BOOSTER
* E-commerce portal to enable tourists book Goa tourism services right from their homes
* GTDC to bring together over 100 tourist trade members, who have already registered
* The website-cum-e-commerce portal will be available in six foreign languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, German and French in addition to Hindi and English
* Will be backed by a 12-hour call center service that will make the process of booking simpler
* Quantum Designs owned by Goan settled in Mumbai, has been awarded the contract
* GTDC will not incur any costs for the venture and in fact stands to gain through revenue sharing model
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PANAJI
Goa Tourism Development Corporation is all set to launch an e-commerce portal that will enable tourists to book Goa’s tourism services right from the comforts of their homes even before they embark on a trip to Goa.
In a statement issued to the press, the GTDC Chairman Nilesh Cabral said the portal, which will be available in six foreign languages besides Hindi and English, will allow tourists to easily make their bookings of rooms in starred hotels, heritage homes, water sports, music festivals, restaurant bookings, cooking trails, heritage sites, walking trails, river cruises, etc.
“This will be the first venture of its kind to be launched by a tourism organisation in India,” Cabral said.
According to the GTDC, it will bring together through the portal over 100 tourist trade members, who have already registered with GTDC to market their products.
“This website-cum-e-commerce portal will be available in six foreign languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, German and French in addition to Hindi and English. It is expected to be backed with a 12-hour call centre service that will make the process of booking and query resolution simpler,” Cabral said.
Quantum Designs, owned by Goan settled in Mumbai, Quinton D’Souza, who has experience in developing software for over 100 travel website applications has been awarded the contract to undertake this project. QD has been building software solutions for the travel industry for the last 20 years. GTDC will not incur any costs for the venture and in fact stands to gain revenue through revenue sharing model. Big Blue Road their marketing partner has been marketing tourism and destinations with a network of offices around the world.
Quantum Designs will conduct national and international online marketing activities through offices in countries outside India along with creation and management of marketing tools for agents. Around 10 marketing personnel in Goa will be deployed to ensure that the database of Goan trade and hoteliers is created and serviced effectively. The portal is expected to go live shortly.
