PANJIM: Seeking immediate government intervention and urging it to take corrective measures on the advisory issued by the Consulate of Japan in India with regards to crimes near Anjuna beach, tourism stakeholders and the concerned Goans have warned that if the concerns highlighted are not resolved soon could have a bad impact on tourism in the State.
President of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Nilesh Shah said, “It is not good news for Goa as all know that the Japanese are disciplined people and they won’t utter something that has not happened.”
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Shah said, “We have to believe them and the government of Goa has to intervene immediately and ask for more details from the consulate why they have issued such advisory. Somewhere something is going wrong and the government needs to act tough along with proper policing, taking cognisance of the complaint and the action taken has to be put in public domain.”
“The Goa Police have the ability to do this. There is a need for political will to address these challenges. The government has to immediately deploy the tourist police that were assured earlier for tourism-friendly policing in the State,” Shah added.
Joseph Barretto, Managing Director of Passive-Active Tourism said, “Most of us, Goans are good people, naive to the fact that Goa is a sin tourist destination of India and a hideout for criminals. There is a need to increase sentinels to police. The police as most of them are “bribed” to support criminal activities.”
Former TTAG president Savio Messias, said, “I don’t think the Japanese Embassy won’t make wild allegations. It was the duty of the police to get in touch with the Japanese Embassy and take action before the advisory takes a toll on tourist arrivals into Goa.”
“The police sometimes have their hands tied due to political interference. It is time that the police take strict action, start patrolling the beaches and investigate the allegation made by the Japanese Embassy and not brush it under the carpet,” Messias said.
“I have recommended to the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa to write to the Japanese Embassy and find out the actual problem. Unless we build confidence into the minds of the people it is going to keep affecting tourism,” Messias added.
Neville Monteiro, an architect said, “The advisory of the Japanese Embassy is a little surprising. The government has to take a stock of the situation and find out if there is a nexus between the officials concerned. The nexus has to be broken to make sure the tourists have a safe stay in Goa.”
