TTAG: Awaiting quick fulfilment of CM’s promises

Panaji: A day after chief minister Pramod Sawant presented the state budget, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) said it is now counting on the state government to quickly implement the measures outlined for the tourism sector in the budget.
The tourism sector also heaved a sigh of relief on hearing that there is no hike in fees and taxes for tourism-related activities. This was one of the key recommendations that TTAG had made to the state government.
While the tourism stakeholders were happy with the intent shown by Sawant, they were unhappy with the meagre hike in allocation for the tourism sector.
“Over all allocation in tourism budget is Rs262 crore, a part of which will go in paying salaries and administration cost. Further, this is just an increase of 7% over last year’s budget allocation,” said TTAG president Nilesh Shah.
“With no big ticket announcement on tourism, we hope spend on infrastructure, the focus on ease of doing business and completion of major projects will boost Goa’s tourism and benefit all stakeholders.”
In its budget recommendations, TTAG had asked the government to keep taxes unchanged, decrease prices of premium alcohol, invest in public transportation and take measures to safeguard tourists.
TTAG has been consistently asking Goa police and the officials of the transport department not to repeatedly stop tourists who are driving their personal vehicles. Sawant has announced that tourists driving into the state will be thoroughly vetted at the borders and given a sticker so that authorities do not stop such vehicles again.
“We also hope to see proper implementation and enforcement of all the measures announced so that all businesses are on a level playing field for growth of the overall tourism industry,” Shah said.He added that Sawant’s promise to complete key projects such as the Convention Centre, Santa Monica Jetty and major roads is a step in the right direction.
TTAG also hopes to see the government begin work on the Entertainment Policy for Goa.