PANJIM: Taking Goa to every tourist’s doorstep, Goa Tourism Development Corporation will make available various Goa tourism facets on one platform at the click of a button. Its website will be transformed into an e-commerce portal and a mobile app will simultaneously be launched in a bid to provide tourists end-to-end experience during their stay in Goa.
The new services are expected to commence on World Tourism Day, September 27 making Goa the first State to have them. These will be introduced in six different languages – Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, French and German in addition to Hindi and English.
“The website was earlier restricted to giving information. We realized it could be converted into an e-commerce portal where every bit of Goa including its history, tourist locations, adventures trips, etc will be included,” GTDC MD Nikhil Desai told Herald.
The services will help visitors browse through and choose from packages, hotel bookings, site-seeing trips, adventure trips and other attractions. The app, Desai said, will be an encyclopaedia while the e-commerce database will be an eye-catcher.
Mumbai-based company Quantum Designs has been tasked with the project. “You can book a hotel and other attractions including a variety of holiday packages through the portal or app, and make online payments. The service will contain a detailed itinerary for tourists to choose from. It will also offer updates on weather, impending strikes, no go zones, etc for the convenience of our visitors,” the MD explained.
Stakeholders such as travel operators and starred hotels will be part of the project, provided they undergo a ‘standard of customer satisfaction’.
The firm’s promoter Quentin de Souza said the service would be an end-to-end experience for all those planning to visit Goa.
GTDC will also set up a call centre operational from 8 am to 8 pm, to be managed by the Mumbai firm. “The call centre will accept bookings from its callers besides replying to various subject-related queries and providing information,” D’Souza said.
