the goan I network
VASCO
Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) is looking forward for a great tourism season ahead in Goa with the recent reduction in visa fees by the central government.
TTAG president Savio Messias on Thursday informed reporters that one of the main reason of hoping for a good tourism season was the reduction on visa fees by the Centre.
Messias said footfalls in the domestic sector was increasing over the years, but the government should work on garbage and infrastructure aspects if they hoped to tap foreign destinations.
“There are two sections of tourists visiting Goa, domestic and international. The domestic tourism is doing well, but we hope there is a turnaround in the international sector with more charters flying in”, he said
Stating that the reduction of visa fees is very encouraging, Messais said the Goa government now needs to work on tackling garbage and infrastructure a foreign tourists are very much concerned about these aspects.”
Messias said while Polish tourists would be arriving this year and Goa must also focus on other markets including a few countries that would earlier visit Goa regularly.
“This year we have a new market in Poland which will have charter flights coming once a week. But we also have to look at other markets that used to come to Goa earlier like the Scandinavian, Swedish and other countries. We cannot entirely focus on Russia and we also have to look at other destinations. This is possible provided the government takes proactive steps to reduce the costs”, he said.
Charters come in bulk and they require incentives like lower rates, parking slots and other facilities. The government should think of having some tourism-related incentives like those offered in Thailand and Sri Lanka, he added.
