Q:
What are the steps you undertake to promote Goa with potential domestic
and international tourists?
A: We have offices in other cities and
other countries too. For example, in the Far East we have an
office in Bangkok and they promote the destination. When we come up with
a new package, we have special promotions, which are not mentioned in
the package. Of course sometimes it is a discount but sometimes it could
mean a special lunch or dinner for the guests. We have people coming to
Goa from Europe. Goa is very popular in the UK and Germany. This is not
to say we don’t have people coming in from other countries.
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Q: Any numbers of how many tourists came to Goa using your services?
A:
Internationally we had approximately 700- 800 clients coming to Goa
through us besides domestic tourists. I am not so sure but surely it
would be 400- 500 in this tourist season. To break it up 30- 35%
of our clients came from Europe, 20- 25% from the Far East and 20- 25%
from the Gulf. We are now getting a lot of NRI business from countries
like Qatar, Dubai and Kuwait.
Q: What is the help provided by the
state Government to promote Goa?
A: We get absolutely no help. They
have not talked to us at all. They should talk to people in the business
to get ideas as to what needs to be done to promote the State. The
present Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar is not very aware of what is
going on. Look at the recent episode surrounding the government’s
attempt to promote the exposition in Europe. Was there thought given if the people of Spain for example would be interested in coming over to Goa for it ( exposition). Are they aware that St Francis Xavier hails from that country? When the
government wants to promote the State they should have people who are
knowledgeable. They should send bureaucrats and technical people not
politicians.
