Drugs main reason for criminal activities in Goa: Shripad Naik

Times of India | 4 hours ago | 04-11-2022 | 06:14 am

PANAJI: Union minister of state for tourism Shripad Naik on Thursday said that drugs were the main reason behind the criminal activities in the state even as he endorsed the recent measures initiated by the state tourism department to curb illegalities in the sector. “The country’s image is maligned due to such illegalities. or when tourists are harassed. I think, drugs are the main reason of the illegalities and the government should take steps to curb them,” Naik told reports on the sidelines of a function in the city. All preparations for commissioning of the Mopa international greenfield airport, the first phase of the new Zuari bridge and All India Institute of Ayurveda at Dhargalim have been done. tnn “We want to inaugurate all the three projects at the hands of the PM, but are awaiting a confirmation of the date from the PMO,” Naik said. State tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said his department has acted against illegal boat operators, who functioned from a spot at Miramar, without adopting the necessary safety standards. “We did not intend to kill their source of livelihood and had in fact informed them to conduct the activities in the right manner, but they did not respond. We have acted against them as the safety of tourists was compromised,” Khaunte told reporters. “We have seen what happened in Morbi. Who will be responsible if tourists are hurt during boat rides,” he said. The tourism department recently issued an ordering a bunch of activities, including cooking on the roadside and selling tickets or packages to tourists promoting destinations outside Goa, as a nuisance.

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Russia’s first flight of season lands in Goa

Times of India | 8 hours ago | 04-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

8 hours ago | 04-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: Aeroflot’s first scheduled flight of the tourism season carrying around 280 passengers from Moscow landed at Goa International Airport at Dabolim, on Thursday morning, while the first charter from Russia is scheduled to arrive on November 13.Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline, will operate three scheduled flights a week and it is expected to raise footfalls for Goa, Sita Travels chief operating officer Ernest Dias said. According to the initial plans, Goa was going to receive three charters a week from various Russian destinations, but Dias said there may be a charter every day till the season ends.“Things are looking better than last year,” the Sita Travels COO said.In 2021-22, Goa received only 4,700 charter tourists from its biggest market Russia as the flights were discontinued after Russia-Ukraine conflict started.Goa has also received substantial number of tourists from Ukraine since 2014, and in 2019, close to 20,000 travellers from Ukraine visited Goa. The numbers however dwindled in 2020 as the world was hit by the Covid pandemic.After international travel restrictions were lifted in December 2021, the state received just 90 tourists from the war-hit country.The season’s first charter from the UK is slated to arrive on Friday. TUI Airways is slated to operate one charter a week, but numbers will not go up if visa applications are not processed expeditiously.Travel companies saw heavy cancellations by holidaymakers last month over delays in getting visa clearance.“The UK travellers still do not qualify for e-visas, so we do not know what could be the scene, but certainly footfalls from the UK will be comparatively low vis-à-vis previous year, a period before the pandemic,” said a tour operator. He said he was dejected with the UK being still left out from the list of the countries that India does not issue E-visas to.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant asks Centre to approve flight connections for Mopa

Times of India | 1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 08:09 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 08:09 am

PANAJI: With Goa’s second airport ready to commence operations, chief minister Pramod Sawant urged the Centre to approve requests for flight connections between Mopa airport and other cities. Sawant, who has written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to inaugurate the airport, said it will be inaugurated in November or early December. Sawant also said that the state would have no role in deciding the name of the private airport, which will be operated by the GMR Group. “We are in the process of operationalising the greenfield airport at Mopa. It will open up more travel opportunities to and from Goa,” the chief minister said. “I request the ministry of civil aviation to consider any request for routes from international and domestic airlines,” he said. The chief minister was speaking at the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (Canso) Asia Pacific Conference, which was held at a city-based hotel. Union minister of state for civil aviation, General Vijay Kumar Singh (retd), said that though the aviation industry suffered heavily during the Covid-19 pandemic, domestic traffic in India has reached almost 95% of pre-Covid passenger traffic. Using the Canso conference as an example, the chief minister said that the new airport will help make Goa an international destination for conferences. “We shall play our part effectively to improve multimodal connectivity to support the state’s aviation infrastructure. With the increase in connectivity, it will be our endeavour to make Goa one of the India’s most vibrant conference destinations,” said Sawant. Singh said that Sawant has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an invitation to inaugurate the airport “this month”, and that the date will be announced soon. Sawant said that once the new airport at Mopa commences, it will “fuel the growth of tourism” and “definitely catapult” Goa to the top spot in tourism.

Helpline, tourism app for visitors by December: Goa minister Rohan Khaunte

Times of India | 1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 06:37 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 06:37 am

PANAJI: Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said that the Goa government will launch an app by December to not only provide tourists with information about all excursions, but to also give them a platform to register their complaints and grievances with the tourism department. “We are getting a lot of complaints from tourists and those legally involved in watersports activities. In the coming days, we are launching an app that will have a call centre to redress grievances. It will be ready before December. It will also provide tourists with details about all the excursions and hotels listed with the department,” Khaunte said. He said that the department will also crackdown on hotels and homestays that are not registered with the state. “At present, there are a lot of frauds in these online bookings. We have already asked operators like Airbnb, Oyo, Makemytrip, etc, to register with us. If they do not, we will be forced to act. We have provided a category for everyone, including homestays. Our deadline to register is already over and we have started taking action against hotels and, seeing this, now many are coming forward to register with us,” Khaunte said. He said that surveillance along the coast will also be improved. “We still have a small tourist security force at present. We have only 62 personnel for 104km. We need more police personnel, whether it is police or IRB. We are also looking at CCTVs for surveillance. We need to send the message of safe and clean tourism.”

Goa tourism needs course change, exploring markets in US, South Korea, says Rohan Khaunte

Times of India | 1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 06:31 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 06:31 am

PANAJI: Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday said that post-Covid the tourism scenario has changed and Goa’s tourism masterplan accordingly needs a course correction. He said that Goa can no more be under the misconception that it is the sole preferred tourist destination. The minister said that Goa will now look at attracting tourists from new markets like Poland, South Korea, Japan and US. Goa cannot depend only on visitors from UK and Russia now, he said. “We need to look east to Poland, Czech Republic, South Korea, Japan and other markets like US, and not depend on tourists only from UK and Russia. This year, we have only gone to Singapore to promote Goa. Given the challenges we have, we will need to give equal stress on domestic and international tourists. After Mopa international airport starts, we will have connectivity to so many new places,” Khaunte said. He said that Goa is in a delicate situation now as tourism infrastructure is also being developed by neighbouring states like Maharashtra along its coast. “We have to understand that Goa is in a very delicate position as far as tourism is concerned. We are under the misconception that we are the most preferred tourism destination. If we do not correct ourselves, in the days to come, we will not remain the most preferred destination. If tourists start going to some other state, then our stakeholders will start getting affected tomorrow,” said Khaunte. On Monday, the state government declared as ‘nuisance’ various tourism-related activities: begging and drinking in tourist spaces, operation of water sports outside designated zones, selling cruise boat tickets other than from authorised kiosks, littering and cooking in open spaces, and hawking at beaches and other tourist places. Under the provision of Goa Tourist Places Protection and Maintenance Act, the violators can now be fined Rs 5,000 up to Rs 50,000, in addition to action under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “Tourists have started talking through social media how they are being fleeced by touts. It is time that we start cleaning them. Now those creating nuisance will be fined and if they are unable to pay the fine, they can be arrested by the police. We call upon stakeholders to help crackdown on these illegalities, which are ruining the experience for the tourist,” the minister said. Tourists’ expectations are different post Covid pandemic and Goa needs to go beyond promoting sun, sand and sea, and start thinking about hinterland tourism, wellness, ecotourism etc, he said. “Today we can be threatened by coastal belts of neighbouring states which are under development. We will also take action against tourists who drink on beaches and break bottles. We have asked the chief minister to hold a joint meeting with the tourism department and excise department to tackle this, by starting a bottle deposit system,” Khaunte said. The new amendment to the act will help Goa up its tourist numbers and attract quality tourists, he said.

National, international jobs on offer at govt job fair on November 8

Times of India | 1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 06:28 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 03-11-2022 | 06:28 am

PANAJI: Goa’s labour and employment department will organise a job fair on November 8 at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao, said minister for labour and employment Atanasio Monserrate. In order to participate in the employment fair, job aspirants will have to register with the government (www.goajobfair.in), he said. “This initiative will be a significant step towards bridging the gap between job seekers and job providers. Opportunities will be available in all sectors across the country and overseas,” said Monserrate. At 13.7% in August, Goa’s unemployment rate is much higher than the national average of 7%. Job creation in the state remains inadequate and unable to cater to the several thousand graduates and post graduates who complete their studies every year. Monserrate said that companies from a wide range of sectors will be participating in the job fair. Job openings will be available in IT, pharmaceutical, tourism and hospitality, logistics, automobile, healthcare, manufacturing and sales. “I appeal to all career aspirants to be part of this mega job fair,” said Monserrate. The regional employment exchange, which is part of the office of the commissioner of labour and employment, said that interested candidates have to register prior to the event. Post registration, each candidate will be given a QR code which is mandatory for entry into the venue.

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