‘Visa issues, other factors’: For first time in two decades, Goa won’t be at World Travel Mart

Times of India | 2 days ago | 26-10-2022 | 08:20 am

PANAJI: For the first time in over two decades, the tourism department will not participate in the World Travel Mart, London, as issues pertaining to visas remain unresolved. "We are having a political bottleneck in resolving visa issues, and with e-visas still not being issued to the UK travellers, it will be a futile exercise to participate in the WTM," tourism minister Rohan Khaunte told TOI. Over the past two years, the WTM was held virtually, due to the pandemic. This year, it is scheduled for November. Besides visa challenges, other factors also led Goa tourism to back out. Khaunte said the UK is facing financial ups-and-downs, and with inflation being at an all-time high there, the cost of participating will escalate. "High expenses will not justify our participation. It would be a junket if Goa tourism were still to participate," Khaunte said. "It's my view and I have always been vocal about it that Goa tourism should not participate in any foreign travel mart and road show unless there is substantial business to be done," he said. "In consultation with the Goa tourism board and stakeholders, we made a conscious decision that unwarranted participation in trade fairs is to be avoided." The tourism minister also said that Goa tourism did not participate in the Paris event which happened last month Goa tourism may have some road shows in the United Kingdom if relations between the countries improve.

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‘Goa Village’ at Sunburn to showcase state’s culture

Times of India | 6 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 11:53 am

Times of India

6 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 11:53 am

PANAJI: For the first time, electronic dance music (EDM) festival Sunburn, scheduled from December 28 to 30 at Vagator, will have a new concept ‘Goa Village’, a special cultural zone at the 16th edition of Goa event. Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said that the festival organiser Percept Live accepted their request to showcase Goa’s culture and provide a stage for Goan artistes. Before in-principle approval was granted for Sunburn, Khaunte said they were asked to provide a platform for Goans to display their talent. “This has never happened in the past and we are happy that local artistes have got a platform to show their talent,” he said. He said that he was sure that Goa village at Sunburn will accurately showcase varied and rich Goan culture to the world. “Goans need a platform to perform and display their talent. Visitors to Sunburn will also learn about the art and culture of Goa,” said the minister. The exclusive zone at the festival, the Percept Live stated, will be dedicated to showcasing and promoting vibrant art, culture, cuisine and lifestyle of Goa by locally established and upcoming talents. Neither promoters of the event nor tourism minister named the local artistes who will perform at the festival. “We have not yet received the list of artistes from the organiser after we explained to them what we wanted for Goans,” Khaunte told TOI. Khaunte insisted that the organisers provide a stage at Sunburn for local artistes, though the original idea was that a three-day festival could be extended by a day due to local performances. The tourism minister said it was not feasible to allot December 31 for such a big event, as it is the last day of the year when Goa sees a surge in footfalls and elaborate security arrangements need to be made.

More than 850 patients benefitted from Raj Bhavan fund, says guv

Times of India | 10 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 07:40 am

Times of India

10 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 07:40 am

Margao: Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai on Thursday said that elected representatives, government, bureaucracy and Raj Bhavan will work together for the betterment of the people.“The society, administration and Raj Bhavan are with cancer and dialysis patients. God is the ultimate dispenser of justice. Out of 200 types of cancer, 161 types are curable and one can overcome this disease. Fear in our mind about cancer stops once we learn to face it with confidence,” Pillai said at the interaction programme with sarpanchs, panchayat members of Rachol, Camurlim, Curtorim and Raia panchayats held at Raia on Thursday.He distributed a financial aid of Rs 25,000 each to 11 dialysis and seven cancer patients from the Raj Bhavan discretionary fund. Pillai said that Raj Bhavan’s initial target was to provide financial aid to 71 dialysis patients, but till now more than 850 patients were provided the benefit. “Raj Bhavan is provided with Discretionary Fund, and last year it was decided not to use this fund for the purpose of governor or Raj Bhavan, but to use it to provide assistance to the needy people of the state,” Pillai said.He further said that representations presented by all the panchayats on the occasion will be studied and steps will be taken to resolve genuine grievances by placing them before the state and Union government.Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and others also spoke.Pillai also visited the patriarchal seminary at Rachol where he was welcomed by rector of the seminary Fr Aleixo Menezes.On Wednesday, the governor, accompanied by tourism minister Rohan Khaunte, sarpanch of Penha-de-Franca Swapnil Chodankar, and zilla panchayat member Kavita Naik visited Porvorim.Pillai started his tour by visiting Our Lady of Penha-de-Franca Church in Britona and offered special prayers. Fr Matheus Sequeira and Fr Antony Britto were present. Later, he visited Shree Vetal Maha Rudra Mandir in Porvorim before attending a programme at Soccoro panchayat hall where he interacted with elected representatives of three panchayats.

Refund for man who booked Goa resort but cancelled due to Covid curbs

The Indian Express | 12 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 05:40 am

The Indian Express

12 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 05:40 am

The Thane additional district consumer disputes redressal commission has directed a resort in Goa and a tourism company to refund the amount paid by a man for a friends’ reunion, which had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The man, a resident of Navi Mumbai, had said in his complaint that he and his friends had decided to have a reunion in Goa in March 2020. The bookings, worth Rs 6.84 lakh, were made for March 13-15. Of this, the complainant had paid Rs 4 lakh as advance to book the resort.However, soon after, Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic and restrictions were placed on travel.The man told the commission that on March 7, 2020, the resort was informed via an email that he and his friends, who were to come from outside India, could not travel due to the pandemic. The complainant sought for the dates to be rescheduled, to which the resort agreed.As the pandemic situation kept worsening, the man was compelled to cancel the reunion and requested for a refund. When the resort refused, he approached the consumer commission. The commission passed an ex-parte order as representatives of the tourism company and resort did not appear before it.“It is crystal clear that from the terms and conditions of the event coupled with emails relied on by the complainant that due to the supervening act of God viz pandemic Covid-19, the event was cancelled. Therefore, the complainant is justified to claim a refund of the amount,” the commission said last month.It directed that the man be paid Rs 4 lakh, along with an interest of 9 per cent, from the date of the cancellation of the booking.It also said that other expenses, including Rs 2 lakh towards litigation and mental torture, sought by the complainant are “exorbitant and unreasonable”. The commission ordered that Rs 20,000 be paid to the man towards the professional fees of his lawyer.

Mopa set for Nov take-off, airlines keen to use facility

Times of India | 15 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

15 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: The new greenfield airport at Mopa is likely to start operations by late November or early December and almost all domestic airlines have evinced interest in flying from the new airport, sources with the directorate of civil aviation and the GMR Group said.On Wednesday, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) cleared the decks for operations to start from Mopa, making Goa the first small state in India to have two airports, by issuing the aerodrome licence—which essentially means the airport is certified to be safe for handling flights.“All permissions have been obtained. The chief minister has already written to the Prime Minister requesting for a date. We have asked for a date between November 1 and 20. We may get to know shortly,” a senior official with the directorate of civil aviation said.Officials with GMR Goa International Airport Ltd (GGIAL), who have developed the Mopa airport, said that deciding the date for inauguration is the prerogative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“Now, we have to inaugurate and then commence operations. Almost all the domestic carriers have shown interest in starting operations from Mopa,” the GGIAL official said.Sources with the directorate of civil aviation also confirmed that many airlines have shown keen interest in the new airport. “The landing slots will be fixed shortly. The airlines might wait for a few days to open bookings,” an official said.Airlines like IndiGo have indicated that they will operate from both the existing Dabolim airport and the new one at Mopa, while international airline Oman Air has announced that it will operate only out of Mopa.The new airport is keenly awaited as the existing airport operates out of the Indian Navy airbase INS Hansa. December is the peak tourism season for Goa when airfares skyrocket and international charter flights also increase.As per the concession agreement, GGIAL will have the right to operate the business for 40 years, extendable by another 20 years. The airport project will be completed in four phases. Construction of the second phase will commence only after 80% of the passenger traffic is handled.When the greenfield airports at Bengaluru and Hyderabad were operationalised, it led to the closing of their existing airports at HAL and Begumpet, respectively. At Goa, when the airport at Mopa gets wings, Dabolim will remain active, and a two-airport system with two different operators will exist.

Calangute p’yat warns of stir over roads

Times of India | 15 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

15 hours ago | 28-10-2022 | 02:40 am

Calangute: Calangute panchayat members have decided to hold a black flag ‘dharna' in front of the public works department’s (PWD) office at Mapusa from Monday, if the potholed roads in Calangute are not repaired by Sunday. Highlighting the dilapidated condition of the roads from Boa Viagem to the beach, the panchayat had written to the PWD executive engineer, Mapusa, on October 25, demanding urgent repairs of the roads before the end of this month.With the tourism already begun and a large number of tourists visiting Calangute, the panchayat said the bad roads are leading to a lot of complaints from visitors and tourism stakeholders. The panchayat is headed by sarpanch Joseph Sequeira who had contested the state assembly election from Calangute on the BJP ticket.

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