Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: As the government prepares to introduce the new Goa Tourist Promotion, Management and Regulation Bill 2024 in the next Assembly session, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has voiced concerns about a number of its provisions.
The TTAG asserted in a media release that the proposed bill offers an ad hoc framework that will hurt rather than help Goa’s tourism industry.
“The Act does not provide any framework for ‘Promotion, Management and Regulation’ of tourism,” it said, instead focusing more on fines, penalties, penalties, and fees that drive up industry costs and government controls over all aspects of tourism.
The bill’s departure from the policy, which sought to replace the Tourist Trade Act of 1982 with a new Regulation Act to encourage increased participation in the Tourism Promotion Board, is one of TTAG’s main concerns. According to the association, the proposed bill does not follow recommendations or its categorization.
A clause imposing a two percent Tourism Development and Sustainability Fee on the invoice value by tourism enterprises was also challenged by the TTAG. According to the association, this is inappropriate. It went on to say that sustainability fees, which are common in nations like Bhutan, Portugal, and Switzerland, are usually levied against local businesses and instead charged against tourists.
Additionally, TTAG drew attention to discrepancies in remarks made by Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte about the fee’s application to “Tourism Clusters,” which have neither been established nor named.
In his press conference, the minister of tourism added that the two percent would only be applied to the “Tourism Cluster.” But as of right now, no tourism clusters have been established or recognized. Thus, the Minister of Tourism’s statement is untrue,” it continued.
The association also expressed disapproval of the bill’s penalties, claiming that they are unfounded and that no specific offenses are listed.
