In a bid to increase the number of the domestic tourist inflow, the State government is in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to jointly promote tourism in both the States.
Speaking to reporters Goa Tourism Development Corporation chairman Nikhil Desai said that the MoU would help tourists coming to Gujarat to easily facilitate a passage and a holiday to Goa and vice versa.
“We have already signed a similar MoU with five other States which includes Meghalaya, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka and Sikkim. Joint promotion of tourism will help to boost tourism numbers in both the states concerned,” he said.
Desai was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a roadshow organised by the Gujarat Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) in Panaji Saturday.
The MoU will also ensure revenue sharing by both the signatory states on the basis of bookings clocked in a financial year. “Sharing of resources between the two states is also key,” he said.
Desai also said that the Gujarat and Goa were also working at a proposal involving creation of boat cruise terminals on the western coast.
Recently, the GTDC has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with five different states – Sikkim, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Karnataka in a bid to attract tourists into Goa visiting those states.
According to the Goa Tourism Development Corporation Nikhil Desai the main idea is to expand the tourism panaroma.
“The MoUs will help towards mutual promotion of tourism, showcasing each others cultural heritage to the tourists and felicitating inbound travel into the respective states,” he said.
According to the deal, the corporations states would mutually market their accommodations and tourism packages.
“Once a booking is made, 15 per cent of the amount will go to the corporation that has made the booking,” Desai said.
He said that since the GTDC accommodation would not be enough to handle the inflow of tourists, the corporation has into talks with all category of hotel owners.
“We are in talks with private hoteliers and even they will benefit from the MoUs,” he said. Desai further said that with these MoUs, GTDC wants to build synergies in and out of those states to Goa.
“Anybody who visits Goa and want to visit one of these five states we can help them through the corporations of these states and visa versa,” he states.
“In the long run when we market Goa abroad, GTDC can act as a single window to attract tourist,” he said.
Through these understandings we can increase the foreign tourist inflow as well as give better packages to them, he stated.
[Source]
