Goemkapronn desk
PANAJI: Goa’s tourism calendar will have events like the endurance race Ironman 70.3, eco-music festival and Sunburn concert during the current year as the state government seeks to attract a large number of travellers and revive a key revenue-generating sector which has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday told reporters that the Goa Tourism Board has granted in-principle approval for various events of international standards that would be held in the coastal state during the year.
The board, at a meeting here, gave approval for hosting the popular Sunburn music festival in the coastal state in December.
Khaunte said Sunburn festival organizers have been given in-principle clearance on condition that they will allow participation of Goan musicians in the event.
“We told them that if they want they can plan the festival for four days instead of three. But there should be a stage for Goan musicians. It should not be just Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival,” Khaunte said.
The board met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Khaunte, as tourism minister, is co-chairman of the board.
The tourism minister said the Sunburn festival should also showcase Goan culture and heritage.
Organisers of another mega event, the eco-music festival, want to host the next edition of the event in Goa and the board has given them a preliminary nod, he said.
Khaunte said the organizers of the eco-music festival, too, have been told to showcase Goan culture while maintaining their original concept.
The tourism minister said Ironman 70.3, a series of long-distance triathlon races once held in Goa in the past, too, has been given approval.
During the meeting, the board also discussed challenges before the tourism sector and commissioning of the international airport at Mopa in North Goa. The first phase of the airport is expected to commissioned in September.
Various investment proposals in the tourism sector, that are pending for approval in different departments, were also discussed in the meeting, Khaunte said.
The state government is working on a single window clearance system for such proposals, the minister said.
