By IANS,
Panaji : More than the terror threat in the aftermath of the Nov 26 attacks, it was the media hype about it that ruined Goa’s tourism party in December and January, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said here Wednesday.
“All (TV news) channels were showing Goa is under threat. If we increase security they say tourism is suffering. Had something happened, the media would have said that, despite repeated warnings on TV channels, no precautions were taken,” Kamat told reporters.
Referring to reports this week of a terror threat, he said it does not refer to Goa alone and other states along the Arabian sea including Gujarat and Maharashtra had also been alerted.
“The intelligence inputs do not specifically say Goa alone. The alerts were for two-three states along the coast,” Kamat said, adding that there was no specific input of a possible terror attack in Goa.
“We have weekly meetings where such information is passed to us by intelligence agencies. But once again, there is no specific information.
“Security has been beefed up in all places including airports. As a coastal state we are obviously taking more precautions,” Kamat said.
Tourism contributes nearly 40 percent to the state’s revenues and ranks second only to mining.
Nearly two million tourists, both domestic and foreign, visit the state in the months from October to March.