the goan I network
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Deputy Chief Minister and Tourism Minister Manohar ‘Babu’ Ajgaonkar has admitted there is a loss of revenue to the government due to private homestays, guest houses and other unregistered commercial establishments, which accommodate 35 per cent of tourists that visit the State
annually.
“In this regard, the Government is looking at revising its policy related to registration of private homes, unregistered guest houses and other commercial establishments and strict enforcement will ensure that the illegal or unregistered homestays/ guesthouses will be streamlined,” he said.
Ajgaonkar stated this after convening a meeting in Panaji on Tuesday to review the tourist arrival structure in the State along with steps to be taken for its improvement.
The meeting was attended by Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo, GTDC Chairman Dayanand Sopte, Secretary (Tourism) Dr Ashok Kumar, Director of Tourism, GTDC Managing Director, officials from the tourism department, GTDC, police, Captain of Ports, TTAG President Savio Messias and other industry stakeholders.
Taking cognizance on the prevalent indiscipline being witnessed at the beaches, Mr Ajgaonkar said, “A full-fledged ‘Tourist Police’ will be set up to ensure no public drinking on beaches, beach safety, and enforcing the regulations of various tourism policies.”
Ajgaonkar also stated that the State’s tourism industry and its stakeholders have appreciated the efforts of the tourism department in carrying out beach cleaning works, particularly after the appointment of new beach cleaning contractor and have found the beaches in the State “much cleaner” now.
“Efforts will soon be made to further improve cleanliness at beaches to improve their standards in lines with Blue Flag certified beaches,” Ajgaonkar said.
Speaking further, he said, “The tourism department had completed various initiatives to provide better infrastructure and amenities to tourists, which include the provision of parking lots, public conveniences, tourist information centres, public places and children parks, CCTV and various other tourism development projects along with private investors.”
Lobo also gave his inputs on improving the quality of beaches.
Meanwhile, KPMG Advisory Services Pvt Ltd, the state-level project management unit of GTDC which had conducted an independent survey has suggested that Goa does not suffer from a crunch in terms of number of tourists. On the contrary, in the last five years, Goa has been performing better than other major tourism states in India.
