PANAJI: The tourism department’s plans to introduce new laws for the tourism industry have both piqued interest and raised concerns. While industry players are still trying to understand the impact of the Goa Tourism Promotion, Management and Regulation Bill (GTPMR), the move to introduce sustainability fee is expected to face some backlash.
Tourism stakeholders and government officials along the beach belt are also curious to see how the Goa Police will react to the plan to deploy police personnel as tourist guards under the authority of the tourism director.
“The bill proposes to collect 2 per cent of the invoice amount from all businesses related to tourism. States have sufficient GST collections and the government can redirect 1 per cent of the GST collected towards a sustainability fund,” said a hotelier on an unnamed basis.
Goa’s hospitality industry has repeatedly called for lower taxes to help the state compete with international destinations, with countries such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia attracting large numbers of international tourists with relaxed visa standards and affordable options.
In May, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) had urged the state and central governments to rationalise GST rates on hotel and food services. “If Goa has to compete with new destinations like Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, our rates have to be competitive. Any addition of new taxes and charges will increase the cost of doing business in Goa and will hit the industry,” travel traders said.
Representatives of travel organisations also said they sought more time to understand the bill and submit their comments to the ministry. An official told TOI that the ministry should give at least 60 days for submitting comments.
“We suspect there may be an attempt to manipulate the constitution of the tourism board,” the official said. “It was TTAG that had advocated for the formation of the board but now we have seen that while the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the World Travel and Tourism Council India Initiative (WTTCII) are listed as industry representatives, there is no mention of TTAG,” the official said.
The state government hopes to pass the new bill when the Goa Assembly meets for its monsoon session in July.
