PANJIM: The stoning of selective inter-state buses on the Goa-Karnataka route has raised apprehensions that tourist inflow would decline, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) feared.
TTAG executive committee member Ernest Dias said they are watching the situation closely while also hoping that the incidents do not impact the ongoing tourism season.
“A negative incident has a wrong impact. The news spreads like wildfire. Right now it’s too early to judge whether the stoning incidents will dampen tourism but if it continues, tourists will definitely panic,” he told Herald.
Dias, also Chief Operating Officer of Sita Travels, asserted that there has been no cancellation of bookings from domestic or international tourists so far. “Fortunately, no bookings have been canceled,” he said.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg said they have stepped up security along the highway stretch in a bid to nab the culprits and ensure that buses ply safely.
Sources, however, said the attacks on selective tourist buses could be due to business rivalry.
