Beach Shacks At Candolim, Calangute, Anjuna To Open From November As Goa Set For Tourist Season

As tourism is yet to pick up in the beach state of Gao post the lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic, in a welcome relief to those in the industry, the state government has started the process of demarcation of beach shacks along the North Goa coast.

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The tourism department has commenced the demarcation process of shacks along Goa's North coastal belt, which includes Calangute, Candolim and Anjuna. Officials are expecting the exercise to be completed within another two weeks.

This comes as a welcome relief to the shack owners who had been left out even after the state resumed tourism a couple of months ago.

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The demarcation of shacks used to happen in early September and they would run through the tourism season.

There are 259 licences available for North Goa beaches, and 108 licences for South Goa beaches.

This year, despite the threat of COVID-19, shack owners and others in the industry hope that the footfall of domestic visitors will increase during the Diwali holidays.

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This however will not make up for the losses that the shack owners are set to suffer this season as many of them rely on charter tourists and repeat visitors, mostly foreigners.

Keeping this in mind, the government has reduced the licence fee for shacks by 50%.

Last week, the Goa Government had unveiled the Goa Tourism Policy 2020 aims to make it one of the safest destinations in the world.

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The tourism policy was put together by KPMG Advisory Services at a one-time cost of Rs 4.99 crore and Rs 8 lakh a month for five years, for the development of four modules related to the policy.

The issue of safety of tourists has assumed prime importance in the state, which has taken the flak for crimes against tourists over the last decade or so.

The coastal state, which is reckoned as one of the leading destinations for beach and nightlife tourism, was ranked by the National Crime Records Bureau at the fourth place vis-a-vis crimes against and by foreigners, who account for nearly half a million of the nearly eight million tourists who visit the state.

In the Goa Tourism Policy 2020, one of the stated objectives obviously is to make the state a "safe destination".

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"Make Goa one of the safest tourist destinations as per world-class standards" has been listed as one of the cornerstone principles of the policy, along with promotion of sustainable tourism, providing seamless mobility to tourists and giving the visitors a diversified as well as an authentic experience that is uniquely Goan.

The policy has also called for a review of existing legislations dealing with "tourism travel, trade, cuisine, wellness and gaming", along with examining measures for promotion of sustainable, environment-friendly, socially responsible tourism in the state, as well as creation of a single-window system for clearances to facilitate ease of business.

Among the key recommendations are setting up of a Goa Tourism Board with various industry stakeholders on board to take a call on tourism industry-related affairs -- both in short- and long-term -- and standardisation of tourism product offerings.