Palolem attracting tourists ahead of season

CANACONA, SEPT 15
The official tourism season may be almost a month away, but with the fading rains providing the right ambience foreign tourists are encouraged to visit Palolem beach.
Foreign tourists have begun to trickle at Palolem and other coastal areas since a fortnight ago, while business establishments which were closed for the lean period are slowly gaining momentum in the taluka’s coastal belt.
On Tuesday, various groups were seen alighting at Palolem, both coming by taxis or local buses and enquiring the availability of accommodations.
With expectation that this year’s tourism will commence sooner than expected, several stakeholders are seen preparing themselves to meet the needs of the visitors.
Out of the many tourist taxis, which were off-the-road during the monsoon, few of them are seen intermittently back at the stands, especially at Palolem and Agonda shores and were seen approaching visitors offering their services.
Many coastal kiosks, which had shut down their shutters at the end of last tourism season, are seen refreshing up, while some that are seen already open are doing enough business at Palolem.
Most of the open kiosks at Palolem are however seen operated by Kashmiris and Lamani’s, while few restaurants too have come alive this month.
It may be recalled that locals alleged that authorities allowed several temporary structures to stand tall despite its contrary claims. Same locals are now alleging that those structures without even awaiting for temporary permits have commenced their operations.
Locals also alleged that the civic body has issued some permanent trade licences to temporary structures, which the authorities had earlier issued with seasonal permits.
Interestingly, sources informed that the State is already playing host to a sizeable number of foreign tourists, as several motorcycle-borne overseas tourists are seen visiting the beach shores.
When contacted, a municipal source informed that no seasonal permit was issued to establish shops in the coastal areas, but reluctantly agreed that some shops were seen reopening to commence the new tourism season.