Panaji: Efforts are being made to control rising air fares during the holiday season and to slash visa rates to compete with cheaper tourism destinations, Tourism Minister Shripad Naik said yesterday.
The union minister of state for tourism (independent charge) was referring to cheaper destinations in South East Asia, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a tourism-related event on the outskirts
of Panaji.
Asked if the government was working on ways to rein in increasing air fares to sought after beach tourism destinations like Goa during the peak holiday season, Naik said the ministry was “trying to control the
air fares”.
During December and January, which represent the peak tourist season in Goa, domestic air fares to and from the state are often in excess of Rs25,000 which is more than the international airfare to Bangkok, in Thailand, from any Indian metro.
Naik also said the federal government was trying to work out a cheaper tourist visa regime, which would make India a more attractive tourism destination and help counter its regional rivals.
Naik said that for a foreign traveller an Indian tourist visa cost $100, but a tourist visa to countries like Maldives or even Sri Lanka costs only $25.
“We are trying to reduce our Indian visa fees,” Naik said.
He also said that Goa’s Dabolim airport would be on top of the list of nine airports in India which have been selected for e-visa facility, as announced in the union budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier this week. IANS
Panaji: Pub culture will not be promoted and must be controlled because it often leads to “unwanted things”, Shripad Naik said yesterday.
Naik was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a tourism-related event on the outskirts of Panaji.
“Pub culture will not be promoted,” Naik said, when asked to comment on a controversy last week after a Goa cabinet minister demanded a ban on mini-skirts, saying revealing clothes and pub-culture were against Indian traditions.
Naik also said that “pubbing must be controlled” because it leads to “unwanted things”.
Naik, however, shied away from questions about the proliferation of the casino industry in Goa, claiming it was a “state subject” and that the chief minister would be the right person to answer the query. Goa is one of the most popular beach tourism destinations in India and is known for its nightlife as well as its pubs and clubs spread out in coastal areas.
IANS
