Goa should build heritage tourism

By The Times of India/Goa

 Jun 26, 2011, 12.22pm 

PANAJI: Goa's tourism has threats in the form of competition from states like Kerala and Maharashtra, but opportunities far outweigh the threats, Narendra Jadhav, member of the Planning Commission of India in charge of Goa, said on Friday. 

Speaking at the Goa Small Industries Association (GSIA) annual general meeting, Jadhav, citing from a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of Goa's two main industries of mining and tourism said, while beach tourism is a good thing, Goa needs to move away towards heritage tourism. 

"Ahluwalia, my boss at the Planning Commission always says that Goa should have a world class museum to boost its heritage tourism," Jadhav said. 

He suggested that Goa could develop medical tourism, adventure tourism, event tourism, eco-tourism and other alternative forms of tourism. "Goa is an ideal location for business and pleasure. You can also create a good convention centre," he said. 

Goa's weaknesses in tourism include the lack of a comprehensive tourism policy and the lack of cohesiveness among the state's tourism players in marketing Goa as a tourism destination, he said. 

Likewise there are threats to Goa's mining from countries like Brazil and Australia and also due to advanced technologies elsewhere. Despite this, opportunities in mining abound. For instance, the worldwide markets are getting bigger though there is a slowdown in China and elsewhere. 

Since the Goa government has plans of dredging the Mandovi and Zuari rivers, it will facilitate plying of larger capacity ore carrier barges.