Consultants says- Goa’s top beaches lack facilities

Consultants says- Goa’s top beaches lack facilities

Dated: Aug 2, 2012

PANAJI: Consultants appointed by the Union tourism ministry to suggest ways to develop tourism circuits in the country have recommended that “lesser known” beaches and tourist spots of Goa should be developed to divert the tourist flow to these locations. This, they say, can reduce pressure on the infrastructure in saturated tourist areas like Calangute, Candolim and Baga.

National-level consultants IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (IL&FS IDC) have pointed at beaches like Velsao and Majorda, and said these beaches require basic tourist infrastructure like changing rooms, drinking water facilities and solid waste management.

“Generally, tour operators organize trips in a manner where only popular sites are covered in a given period of time. This practice creates more pressure on few destinations. Therefore, while selecting the destinations for the development of tourism infrastructure, the consultants have made attempts to promote sites situated around these popular/saturated destinations which are relatively less developed,” the report to the Union tourism ministry states.

The cost of giving Goa a facelift and giving tourists-both foreign and domestic-plenty of reasons to throng Goa is pegged at over 500 crore.

The consultants said an investment of 504.7 crore on a public-private-partnership basis was needed to develop tourism infrastructure in the state. Employment is expected to be generated for 3,93,630 Goans through the new investment.

“Baga, Candolim and Calangute beaches lack facilities in terms of solid waste management. Present parking spaces are insufficient. Therefore, there is requirement of a multilevel parking. Public conveniences and changing rooms are also required for the convenience of tourists visiting these beaches,” the consultants noted in their report which has already been submitted to the Union tourism ministry.

The national consultants’ report states that Goa is already a well established and self-sustaining tourist destination.

“Generally, local tour operators offer three-four days tour packages to domestic and foreign tourists. On an average, a domestic tourist spends 1,081 per day and a foreign tourist spends 2,415 per day. This suggests that the amount spent by foreign tourists is almost double the amount per day spent by domestic tourists,” the report reads.

The consultants have noted that more than 50% of hotels in Goa come under the three-star and two-star categories and that nearly 19% of hotels belong to the five-star deluxe categories.

“Goa has an international airport and is connected to most Indian cities by air. It ranks among the top 10 in all-India air traffic, most of which is related to tourism. The state has good connectivity in terms of international flights, including chartered flights from the European countries,” the consultants said.

The report has recommended facilities of solid waste management, drinking water and seating in all beaches in the state frequented by tourists and have suggested that five to 10 CCTV cameras be installed on each of these beaches.

IL&FS IDC has proposed that of the 504.7 crore, the central government should invest 89.2 crore and the remaining 415.5 crore should be raised through public-private-partnership.

src: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-02/goa/32999616_1_domestic-tourist-foreign-tourists-tourism-infrastructure