MARGAO
The Shack Owners Welfare Society has urged the government to reduce the license fees of the beach shacks for the upcoming tourist season in order to compensate the losses of the previous year.
In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, with a copy to the Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte with a copy of the Tourism Director, Society President Cruz Cardozo urged the government to mitigate the losses sustained by shack owner last season by reducing the licensing fees for the upcoming season.
“Reduction of the fees would help compensate for the income lost during months when businesses were unable to operate”, he said.
Additionally, the Shack owners society has suggested to the government to explore other financial relief measures, breaks or subsidies, to support the affected businesses and ensure their sustainability.
“Last season, significant delays in issuing beach shack licenses caused severe disruptions for many local businesses. The licenses, which were delayed by three months, coincided with a critical period where tourism typically peaks. This delay, coupled with the parliamentary elections, resulted in a substantial decline in tourist arrivals”, Cardozo stated in his memorandum.
He added: “Due to the delay, beach shack owners were unable to operate during the prime tourist season, leading to significant revenue losses. For instance, many reported a drop of up to expected earnings for the season. This loss has had effect, impacting not just the business owners, but alo their employees and the local economy at large”.
The Goa Shack Owners Society had been insisting with the government to go by the High Court directions in the allotment of beach shacks well ahead of the beginning of the tourist season so that they can complete the process of erecting the shacks on time.
They, however, pointed out that much time was lost in the last year in the allotment of shacks, resulting in the owners sustaining heavy losses.
