MARGAO: Opposition Leader Digambar Kamat on Saturday warned that the promotion of illegal hotels and homestays by the government will completely destroy the tourism industry.
He said, “Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant must ensure that only those that are registered with Goa Tourism Department are allowed to operate following strict COVID protocol. It is important that the government takes steps to ban touts and bring transparency in the tourism sector.”
“The recent admission by the Tourism Minister that almost 1.60 crore tourists stayed in Goa illegally in the last season clearly exposes the fact that there is no control over the illegal hotel and homestay business in Goa” Kamat claimed.
“Hoteliers in Goa, who run their businesses by following all the procedures, guidelines and by paying taxes to the government, are finding it difficult to carry on with their business. The illegal hotel business does not bring any revenue to the government,” he said.
Digambar informed that following COVID outbreak, the Cabinet meeting on April 8, 2020 had revealed that total of 675 tourists were stranded in Goa after the nationwide lockdown was announced. This figure included 86 domestic tourists and 589 foreigners.
Surprisingly, he said that the information put in the public domain by Goa Airport states that almost 9500 foreign tourists have been sent to their native countries in almost 49 flights till date.
“This is in contradiction to the data discussed by the Cabinet. It is clear that almost 9000 foreign tourists stayed in Goa illegally in unauthorised hotels. This figure is 15 times more than the figures shown by the government,” he claimed.
