PANJIM: Just when Goan stakeholders were looking at China to rescue the State’s tottering tourism industry, the sudden outbreak of a mysterious deadly virus in that country could possibly play spoilsport.
A six-member delegation from China is scheduled to arrive to Goa, subject to approval of a proposal put forth by the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) – an umbrella organisation of tourism stakeholders – to the Goa government. However, the disturbing news could postpone the arrangement although no official communiqué, either from the government or the Chinese delegation, has yet been released.
TTAG, which has been vigorously working on uplifting Goa Tourism, has dismissed the apprehensions. Association President Savio Messias emphasised that the virus, originating from a part of the huge country, cannot stop the project, but they might reconsider the project if the situation in China worsens. “A virus does not mean that business stops. The delegation coming to Goa is not from Wuhan, the primary source of the outbreak. But we will definitely rethink if the matter worsens there,” he told Herald.
Goa hoped to reverse the downfall in tourism by attracting travelers from China, who are also considered to be high spenders. For this, TTAG proposed a series of meetings with Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar with the delegation, who will promote Goa in their home country. Along with this, TTAG also zeroed in on a private airline that would fly Chinese citizens to Goa as it connects to 26 cities in China.
With the latest development and Ministry of Health, New Delhi issuing a travel advisory for travelers visiting China, things look uncertain at least for now. The mysterious new virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has since spread to two other domestic cities and three countries. The epidemic is feared to be like the deadly SARS outbreak that hit the region in 2002-2003.
One Indian woman, attached with an international school in China as a teacher, is amongst several who have contracted the disease.
