Goa expects tourists from September

Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, Goa Tourism Development Corporation, believes that tourism in the state would re-start by September this year. In the meantime, the tourism board is putting protocols in place for service providers, and also working on its tourism policy to make Goa an investment-friendly state.

Nisha Verma

Q When is Goa expected to open for tourism?

I am optimistic that we would have put the worst behind us by end of August and we will be ready to welcome our visitors from September. I am also very happy to see an increased level of interest among international inbound tour and charter operators for Goa in the coming season. However, in case we are able to overcome the crisis earlier, Goa would not delay opening its doors to tourists, with due emphasis on health and safety measures for both tourists and locals. Currently, Goa has focused its energies on defeating this pandemic with active cooperation from people of the state.

My take is that business travel will be the first to pick up, followed by leisure, adventure and then M!CE. We can hope for normalisation of large events and gatherings that Goa is famous for, by September 2020.

Q What would be the protocols for the ‘new normal’?

We are already working on a set of protocols that must be followed by the hospitality industry and the tourists. The situation is evolving rapidly and every 7-10 days, there is a new set of protocols being issued. We will wait for instructions from Government of India and accordingly formulate our own protocols in the best interest of the tourism industry and after consulting various stakeholders in Goa. The focus will be on ensuring effectiveness of these measures and at the same time, we will have to be pragmatic for the measures to be implemented without any unreasonable escalation in travel cost.

Q How will GTDC now work to boost tourism?

We will focus on domestic markets and further consolidate our presence in weddings, M!CE, adventure and leisure tourism. We are also using this time to ramp up our tourism infrastructure to world-class standards and focusing on introduction of new services and products. Mopa International Airport is all set to become a reality and functional within the next 18 months, which will be a game changer for Goa’s tourism industry.

We are also focusing on completion of Swadesh Darshan projects sanctioned by the MOT, especially the construction of a convention centre at Panjim and completion of Fort Aguada project for promotion of cultural and heritage tourism. Similarly, we will be launching heritage walking tours, sky dining and completion of all state-funded infrastructure projects in important tourist places. We are looking forward for sanction of financial assistance by MOT for development of UNESCO World Heritage Site in Old Goa under PRASHAD scheme. We are also undertaking work for development of hinterland circuit in North Goa under Swadesh Darshan scheme.

Q Will your dynamics with travel agents change for the better?

Travel agents will play a vital role in disseminating information to the tourists, as far as new tourism activities and popularising new destinations within Goa are concerned. We are looking forward to their cooperation for popularising various services and activities that GTDC will be launching in Goa in the coming months.