PANJIM: The Tourism Master Plan (TMP) seems to have been rejected even before it could be discussed and decided upon by the Government of Goa.
The Tourism Department had organised a consultative session on the interim presentation of the Tourism Master Plan, at Miramar Residency, for the public as well as stakeholders but to their dismay it received a lukewarm response from both. Of the 200 chairs in the conference hall at the Residency has, only 22 were occupied of which eight to 10 were by media persons.
A few stakeholders told Herald that poor advertising and publicity of the event was the reason for the poor response. “Frankly there was just one advertisement issued for the consultation programme which was not enough or maybe the people have outrightly opposed it,” said a hotelier, who did not want to be named.
Surprisingly, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar blamed the people and stakeholders for the poor response. “We did not expect such a response. The public meeting was very well publicised but still there was low attendance on the first day,” Parulekar said adding, “We expect a good response tomorrow.”
The minister also added that letters were written well in advance to all stakeholders and taxi drivers but they failed to make it.
A few people from the tourism sector who were present, suggested that the Regional Plan (RP) 2021 should be implemented first before going ahead with the TMP.
Minguel Braganza, said that the TMP has some good points like the agency has decided they will altar the beach area with proper parking facilities, so that people don’t park on the road and congest the area, while most stakeholders suggested that the plan target getting more revenue rather than mass tourists.
“The case of Mopa Airport is pending and just in case if the judgment is not to allow Mopa airport, than will there be a major impact on TMP,” GPCC spokesperson Avinash Tavares said. Other questions raised were, why the authorities have not included major events like Defence Expo and BRICS Summit in the TMP.
The South Goa tourism related stakeholders expressed a major concern, as they say tourism will decline in South Goa, as Mopa Airport is far and tourists arriving would prefer to stay in North Goa. They stated that the second airport in Goa will only cater to Maharashtra, as it very close to the border.
“Does Goa have the capacity to handle tourist increase, which is going to double in the coming years, and will the hotels be in a position to accommodate them?” questioned a stakeholder.
Meanwhile, the Interim presentation on the TMP was done by KPMG agency members, who categorized tourism development in five categories – Coastal development, culture and heritage programs, nature based programs, leisure/entertainment and meeting/incentive/exhibition and wedding programs.
