The rape and murder of British teenager, Scarlett Keeling in the state’s coastal belt in 2008, seven years down the line, is still looked on as one of the major reasons for the downfall of British tourists in Goa over the years.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Calangute MLA, Michael Lobo told the State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the fear of rape and killing of Scarlett is still alive in the minds of British tourists and other foreign tourists who find themselves unsafe in the coastal state. “There are various reasons for the decline in foreign tourists from European countries. Scarlett’s rape case coupled with hassles on beaches and garbage, are some of the major reasons,” Lobo said.
“Foreign tourists do no find themselves safe here any more. It’s the duty of the government to build confidence amongst them again,” the coastal MLA said.
However, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar ruled out any downfall in the British tourist arrivals in the State. As per the figures, he said for the tourism season 2012-13, a total 1.19 lakh UK tourists arrived in Goa, while in 2013-14, the number went up to 1.45 lakhs and in 2014-15, a total of 1.46 lakh tourists arrived in the State.
“Yes! No doubt the State use to receive around 1.80-1.90 lakh UK tourist in 2007-11 but the situation cannot be the same every time,” the Minister said, adding that during his visit to New Delhi, last week, the Union Tourism Ministry assured to reduce the E-Visa charges to UK nationals from the existing 105 pounds to 30-40 pounds.
“This will encourage people from UK to visit Goa in large numbers,” he went on to say.
Parulekar, disagreeing with the allegation said that there is a rise in foreign tourist arrivals since 2012. In 2012-13, a total of 2.20lakh foreign tourists arrived from over 28 countries, while in 2014-15, a whopping 5.13 lakh foreign tourists traveled to Goa.
