PANAJI
Efforts by the Tourism department to streamline and reduce paperwork related to registration and renewal of licences for various businesses has been welcomed by industry.
The department is working on cutting down on the multiple authorities within the jurisdiction of the tourism ministry which businesses in the sector have to register or report and file returns.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Goa, in a statement said it appreciates the initiative taken by the Goa tourism department and the steps it has taken to rationalise application and renewal procedures for the tourism industry.
"It will be a large relief to existing stakeholders and a welcome incentive to new investment in the State. This is a big step in the right direction for the industry," CII Goa Council chairperson Swati Salgaocar said.
Salgaocar also said that CII-Goa appreciates that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte entertaining and implementing CII-Goa's recommendations made through representations and thus facilitating ease of doing business in the tourism sector.
Meanwhile, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has supported the Goa government and Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte for taking steps to minimize licence-raj and to ensure a hassle-free registration process for tourism licences and renewals.
The number of licenses required for hoteliers have been reduced from nine to three and the renewals have been reduced from four to nil. Similarly the license requirements for the registration of travel agencies, water sports, tourist guides and home-stays is significantly reduced to minimise the hardships and hassles that the hospitality industry was subjected to. Calling this as an ease of doing business in its true sense, the GCCI recalled that it had made this suggestion in last June in their list of recommendations of EODB to the chief minister.
“This is a bold step taken in the interest of the industry which will not only help in increasing the revenues for the industry but encourage investments in the state and increase govt revenues generated by the hospitality industry for the State of Goa,” said the GCCI press release.
