TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The government’s tourism blitzkrieg road shows abroad continue, despite a bad December 2014 peak season, with Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar due to visit Berlin to attend the International Travel Mart. They will then proceed to Italy along with a host of tourism officials and stakeholders. This has raised eyebrows in certain sections.
The government delegation justifies the 10-day trip to Europe saying that a formal announcement on hosting the Junior International Delphic Games, in Goa, in 2016, would be made at the International Trade Mart in Berlin. Thereafter the entourage will travel to Italy for a road show.
The Europe-bound delegation will also include Power Minister Milind Naik and Goa Tourism Development Corporation MD Nikhil Desai who will fly to Berlin via Doha by Qatar Airways on Sunday and then to Milan, Italy. Future road shows have been scheduled in Poland and Dubai.
“I don’t think we need to harp on that, in addition to today’s (Saturday) budget announcement for the development of Churches at Old Goa, visas on arrival have been extended to 150 countries along with other initiatives to promote tourism. Russia is important but we need to look at other markets as well,” Parulekar told Herald.
There have been allegations that the Tourism Department is not concentrating on Russia, especially since most of the charter tourists coming to Goa are from that country. The dip in numbers has affected Goa tourism to a large extent.
According to sections of the industry, the government instead of concentrating and trying to increase the number of tourists from CIS countries, it is concentrating on areas where it has no traction.
“We need to concentrate on Russian tourists too. Ultimately they are the ones coming in the largest numbers,” Ernest Dias of SITA travels said, urging the government to also put in some efforts to retain and get tourists from Russia.
A GTDC official said Goa Tourism is seizing the opportunity to aggressively market the newly launched e-Visa and VoA facility being offered at Dabolim airport in addition to showcasing its best tourism products and new ventures to be unveiled in the next few months.
Conceding that Kerala is one of Goa’s strongest competitors, the official said that Kerala Tourism Board is most likely to spend Rs 80 crore on tourism marketing and promotions. Goa Tourism therefore feels the need to be present at Travel and Tourism fairs and exhibitions to showcase its different facets and strengths to the world.
Despite all stakeholders complaining about the bad December 2014 season, Parulekar claimed the State received 30 per cent increased footfalls in 2014 and this was due to their sustained global campaign.
