PANJIM: The dangerous coronavirus, which has killed over 800 people in China, seems to be severely hurting the tourism industry globally as the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa cancelling the 6-member Chinese delegation's visit to Goa for now.
Speaking to Herald TTAG president Savio Messias said the tour hosted by the TTAG was funded by the State government.
“We have kept the visit on hold considering the recent developments,” he said.
He said the Chinese delegation were supposed to arrive in Goa on Sunday.
The delegation was supposed to be comprising of photographers, models, online and offline booking experts and marketing strategists from China.
He said the delegation was part of a marketing strategy planned by Goa tourism industry stakeholders to attract visitors from China.
Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) recently placed a proposal before the government on how this delegation could help prepare content for Goa Tourism Department and stakeholders to promote the State in Chinese markets.
If the proposal is accepted, the delegation will head for Goa in the first week of February to hold a series of meetings with Sawant, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar had told Herald.
Along with this, TTAG has zeroed in on an airline that would fly Chinese citizens to Goa either for a holiday or for business.
“We had not only approached the China market but also Air Asia airline in order to introduce a wide-body aircraft from Kuala Lampur to Goa,” Messias said speaking to Herald.
TTAG has sought support from the government as well as airport authorities considering that Goa’s tourism sector has been witnessing a significant drop since the last two years.
TTAG was certain that tourists from China will not be backpackers but instead will be good spenders.
In 2018, a Goa tourism delegation’s visit to Beijing International Travel Mart had raised many eyebrows in the wake of poor response during the preceding years too.
Last year, the State Level Marketing Committee, that decides on participation in international shows in different countries and states, dropped China from their list.
