TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte and Congressman Mauvin Godinho Thursday came down heavily on frequent foreign jaunts by ministers in the name of attracting international tourists, while ignoring infrastructure development in the State.
Khaunte while speaking on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address said the foreign trips and participation at road shows will serve no purpose, if the basic infrastructure required for tourism is not developed. “We should instead concentrate on upgrading our basic infrastructure,” he observed.
Khaunte said that Goa should fix basic issues such as garbage which is repelling tourists. He also said that persons from Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other agencies should study the possibility of inviting high end tourists to Goa.
“The domestic tourists have increased and international tourists have dropped. But this should not matter. We need spenders and not cheap tourists. We get foreign tourists only from the colder region. We need to explore tourism potential from more countries,” Khaunte, who represents Porvorim, said.
The legislator alerted government growing competition from neighbouring states and called for crackdown on officials who collect haftas at the border check posts.
Congress MLA Mauvin Godinho also stressed the need for a road map and streamline what is needed for promoting tourism. He said consultants and road shows will not solve the problem. Another Congress MLA Jennifer Monserrate called for enacting a Tourism Policy.
On the transport issue, Khaunte asked for a transport consultant especially because the internal transport is minimal. On the agriculture front, he criticized the government for not formulating agriculture policy even as the agriculture growth has seen six percent jump.
