PANAJI
In a joint representation to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant by two premier bodies, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Travel and Tourism Association of Goa to the Chief Minister on Tuesday appealed to the government to undertake measures to ensure that charter tourism restarts in Goa.
Suggesting some measures including the immediate announcement for opening of international tourist charters from October onwards, TTAG and GCCI state that this will give time to foreign operators to market and prepare for the operations and that this coming season will not be lost.
“If by any chance there is any third wave of Covid-19 then announcement of cancellation of charter operations can be made by September or October,” the TTAG and GCCI said.
The other suggestions include working out on a special charter tourist package visa and issuing it manually by the local embassies, or issuing of temporary landing permits on arrival to tourists, as done in the past.
The SOPs should be put in place for all international arriving tourists like being fully vaccinated or a negative RTPCR Covid-19 test report being done in 72 hours of travel. Dedicated area for arrivals and departure at the airport for these international passengers can also be worked out, feels TTAG.
Another suggestion is to reserve dedicated beds in the hospital for these passengers in case some passengers are positive. The hotels, transporters and suppliers should follow strict SOPs post opening of domestic tourism TTAG said
Pointing out that tourism is one of the most adversely affected sectors for the Covid pandemic, TTAG mentions that the tourism sector employs over 40 million skilled and trained manpower and generates approximately US $29 billion foreign exchange per annum. With the full closure of international flights and visas from March 2020, many operators and stakeholders closed offices and are facing severe financial constraints, claims TTAG.
As Goa is one of the leading States for tourism, TTAG has proposed that charter flights should be allowed to land in Goa especially from safe destinations that have allowed Indians to travel to their countries on tourist visas.
“International flights are already operating between two countries like Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan and we should reciprocate the same way. As tourists arriving in Goa don’t travel to any other State and majority of them spend their time at their respective hotels so it becomes easy to control and monitor them,” feels TTAG.
