First meeting of tourism board to be held in Dec

The first meeting of the Goa Tourism Board — which will be the final authority in deciding tourism-related projects and strategies — is expected to take place in December. The notification constituting it will be out shortly. The cabinet had recently approved the board’s formation with the chief minister as its chairperson and the tourism minister as its co-chairperson. The board will pave the way for implementing the tourism master plan and policy and has been the chief feature of the tourism policy that was approved last year. Though the composition of the board was finalised after much deliberation and consultation, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) had requested the government to have it headed by the chief minister instead of the tourism minister a few months ago. The suggestion was made as a broad consensus arose among stakeholders that having the chief minister at the helm of affairs would be prudent and that his presence would help fast-track the projects that may need authorisation and approval of departments other than the tourism ministry. A member of the trade body said that though much time was lost, they are happy the board will become a reality soon. “The board will be the final authority henceforth in deciding projects, promotions and marketing strategies,” the member said. Several trade members had been critical of Goa Tourism over the past few years when funds were utilised mainly to beautify temples and churches due to the insistence of either GTDC or the tourism minister, or sometimes both.