By IANS,
Panaji : Goa can be modelled as Singapore as one of the leading destinations for high-end tourism, Confederation of Indian Industries’ (CII) Goa unit chairman Atul Pai Kane said Monday.
Kane, who recenty took over as the head of the CII state chapter, said that CII had already submitted to the state government a white paper on re-orienting Goa’s tourism.
“Goa is a small place. But a lot of similar shaped and sized places like Goa have managed to attract high spending tourists, like Singapore. In fact, some months ago we have given the government a white paper modelling our tourism on those lines. We are still in discussions,” Kane said.
The CII state head also stressed the need to urgently re-orient Goa’s tourism profile from one which attracted tourists by the horde into a more niche space.
Tourism, Kane said, was one of the five focus areas for the CII, others being pharmaceuticals, agriculture, logistics and e-governance.
Goa’s beaches, cheap liquor and nightlife annually attract 2.5 million tourists, of whom half a million are foreigners.
The debate over raising Goa’s tourism profile has been on for several years now, with the tourism ministry contemplating niche projects like golf courses, heli tourism, and so on.