Goemkarponn desk
PORVORIM: The Goa government has issued notices to some of the leading online travel portals like for failing to register and empanel their portal with the State tourism department.
The Opposition benches today took the state government to task for losing huge revenue from the unregistered hotels and home stays. They also pointed out that several online booking portals are not registered with the State tourism department.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte however defended his department and informed House that in all 188 hotels in North and 113 in South Goa have been issued notices for not registering.
“We have asked for the disconnection of their water and electricity supply,” khaunte said.
The Minister also said that strict action will be taken against those Online Travel Agents and hotels who fail to get themselves empanelled.
“Five OTAs have registered, rest who have not done will face action, ” he assured.
The subject of tourism, which is Goa’s main industry, was hotly debated. The tourism minister was the one who announced that the tourism department had implemented the TIME program, which gathers all the information from the hotels and can be used to track visitor inflow, time spent in Goa, nationality, and other information.
He added that KPMG has received a notice from the tourism department requesting the supporting materials for their report on tourism. The Minister stated that no one could dispute the huge numbers they provided about illegalities.
Altone D’Costa, Quepem MLA, brought up the subject of online fraud bookings made in the name of hotels and urged that it be stopped because the department has not yet taken any action and false websites are being formed.
Additionally, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai brought up the problem of revenue loss brought on by multiple units in a single gated community. He questioned if it would be possible to set up a system to track revenue loss.
Rohan Khante, stated that all online travel agencies and hotels that have agreements with them must register with the tourism department. Five OTAs have registered, and the remaining ones will face consequences, he promised.
He continued by saying that 188 hotels in North Goa and 113 in South Goa have all received notifications for failing to register with the tourism department
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