Goanet next meets in Goa: January 7, 4 pm (meeting point: Kala Academy canteen). Goanet founder Herman Carneiro will be there. See you there! ------------------------------
NRIs meet discusses opportunities and obstacles for investment BY HERALD REPORTER http://www.oherald.com PANJIM, JAN 3 Various tourism-related issues like water sports and adventure sports, obstacles for the investor, holiday packages, health tourism, etc were discussed in the presence of the delegates attending the Gomant Vishwa Sammelan at Kala Academy on Saturday. Need to look at tourism in totality and not on piece-meal basis was stressed at the session on tourism. R Raghuraman Secretary, Tourism, Government of Goa, elucidated on the recommendations made by the task force on tourism. He said the 35,000 bed capacity which the State can boast of is not sufficient to cater to the growing inflow of tourists. The package of 3 nights/4 days to Bangkok is equivalent to air fare between Goa and Delhi. He said the areas which needs attention and investment are: doubling of State and national highways, upgrading new links, constructing marinas, skybus, golf courses, sea cruises, floating restaurants, facilities in and around the airport, etc. Ralph de Souza stressed the need for carrying out introspection in the tourism sector and see what best could be done to put the industry on the right tracks. Mr de Souza who is the vice-chairman of Goa Travel and Tourism Association and president of Goa Heritage Action Group said that now is the right time for introspection. He called for sustained efforts to capture new markets. "For many years, we have been talking about taping new markets," he said adding, lately, Goa has attracted Russians. But when Goa started getting Russian tourists, Government of India closed down its Moscow office which he described as baffling. Referring to the present tourism scenario, he said lack of facilities like multiplexes, areas for fishing, convention centres, health tourism centres, etc have been impediments for the growth of tourism in Goa. As Goa is emerging as a family destination, multiplexes, he said, should be an important feature of tourism in Goa. Multiplexes, he said, could also sustain tourism during the monsoon. He expressed satisfaction that Goa has been selected as the permanent venue for the IFFI. The brand of Goa will further get a boost, he said. Anil Madgaonkar: highlighted the huge potential water sports and adventure sports offer in Goa for the investor. He however, said that the the role of the government as a facilitator would have to undergo a change. The guidelines formulated by the government for water sports, he said, are too lengthy and tedious. He said so many clearances are required that it would be difficult for the entrepreneur to get the clearance. The agencies involved as MMDC, captain of ports, panchayat, tourism, fisheries department, etc, he added. Mr Madgaonkar who is a partner of Emerald Tours stated that at the village panchayat level, the investor faces lot of problems. Giving his own example, he said recently a village panchayat demanded money for clearance of his project. Some months ago, a water sports project at Nerual, he pointed out, also faced stiff opposition from the panchayat. He was critical of the role being played by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC). He said they have gone into business like hotels, tours, buses thereby competing with the private enterprise. "What are they doing to be a good facilitator?" he questioned. Stating that water sports has a tremendous scope, he said investment in creating facilities in this sector will pay-off in no time. He stressed the need for setting up sports-fishing facilities, sports submarine, marinas, marine park, etc in Goa. He said fishing as an activity has picked up the world over and tourists travel to indulge in this hobby. For this, a sports-fishing boat with a carrying capacity of 10-12 persons is required. >From sports submarine, the tourist could see all sorts of marine life-under water. Marinas too, he said, are money spinners. Once a marina is built, Goa, he claimed, may attract hundreds of yatchs. These kind of projects will bring in a different class of tourists. Goa, he said, despite the potential, has no water sports academy worth the name. NIWS is there for the last ten years but with no investment to carry out any major activity, he stated. Adventure tourism too, he said, has a promising future in Goa and impressed upon the delegates to invest in setting up facilities in this sector. These include hand-gliding, skying, aero-sports, para-sailing, para-gliding, etc. Victor Albuquerque explained the potential health tourism offers. The 40 billion dollar market, he said, is ever growing and that a huge clientele is from the Gulf. Mr Albuquerque whose Apollo Victor hospital has been set up in Margao, said large number of Arabs go to America and the US for treatment. This is despite the fact that they have to pay huge medical bills there. For example, he informed that an open heart surgery will cost 150, 000 in the US, 5-10,000 in India and 7,500 in Thailand -- all in dollars. If promoted effectively, medical tourism, he said, will put Goa on the world map. Mahendra Alvares of 'Ancestral Goa' who spoke on village tourism stressed on the culture of the place -- folk dances, folk plays, etc and good habits as the main ingredients of rural tourism. Earlier, the MD of GTDC and project manager of task force on tourism Pramod Shetye introduced the guest and President of TTAG Charles Bonifacio welcomed and later moderated the session. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################