In 2013 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit a 13 members Chinese delegation was taken on a
tour of top industries in Goa, to enable them to assess the business
environment in Goa
Later Mr Ronson Lau, the Group Chairman of
Star Yield Group of China based in Hong Kong, told Herald, “If we are given a
contract we can invest up to one billion US dollars. For us, Goa happens to be
one of the iconic places in India. If we are able to set up big building here
in the State, it will help a lot of people get jobs and will also help boost Goa’s
economy.”
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And now, in a fresh tourism driven
initiative, the Chinesewill guide Goa to help pitch Goa to their home audience.
But are we ready for the Chinese. Café speaks to
stakeholders
It’s a great initiative that should have
been done long ago because today Chinese people make for great tourists across
the globe. At the same time we need to become a destination that is worthy of
tourists, we have good facilities, and give enough opportunities to the tourist
to spend money on experiences they surely well, but we also need to retain the
essence of Goa. Making it a concrete jungle and replicating tactics used by
other cities is not going to help. People should come to Goa to experience what
Goa stands for
– RALPH D’SOUZA, ex TTAG president, a hotelier and tour
operator.
We should definitely look at Chinese tourism potential very
aggressively. The numbers from Europe are dwindling and hence we need to
explore China as a potential market which will fill the void created by
diminishing charters. Also if we tap the right strata, Chinese people are good
spenders and will help Goan hotels and restaurants too – MANOJ CACULO, President, GCCI
Trade delegations are always a boon for the economy. But we need
to have a more holistic approach towards tourism irrespective of the
nationality of the delegations. From developing facilities without compromising
on the culture, to an overall mentality shift, we need to work on all aspects.
we need to give enough reasons to the tourists to come back and treat it as a
365 days opportunity rather than just a season. People attached in the business
need to be ready and more welcoming to all sorts of tourists and work towards
changing the perception of Goa being a tourist destination and yet being an
unfriendly state
– NOLAN MASCARENHAS, a food and travel writer.
I believe this is a great way to promote tourism by catering to
Country specific requirement whether China or any other. Besides the individual
tourists a lot can be gained by leveraging Goa s strength to promote it as the
EVENT capital of Asia Pacific . A state of art Convention Cum expo centre needs
to be put in place on priority basis – RAJKUMAR KAMAT, President Vibrant Goa
Just a delegation coming in will not help, we as a state need to
do much more to attract tourism. Even now we lack basics like local
transportation, so I feel unless we become equipped to handle tourist business
in a more productive way, only delegations coming in won’t add much
– ASHISH KAPUR, owner Out of the Box Events and Weddings
The gap left by Thomas Cook has to be filled in and I think this
is the right initiative in that direction. In my more than 25 years of
experience in tourism and hospitality I haven’t seen much of Chinese tourists
in this side of the country, so it’s surely a good move but at the same time we
need to be ready to tackle issues like language barriers and being overall a
more friendly tourist state
–
NIKHIL MIRKAR, Owner Goa Unlimited, a travel experience company
