Nearly 400 buyers from around 28 countries will vie for a share of Goa's immense tourism potential, organisers of the second edition of the Goa International Travel Mart (GITM) said today.
Mr Nikhil Desai, head of the organising committee, said ITB Berlin, world's leading Business to Business (B2B) platform, has associated itself with GITM, the three-day conference beginning from Friday.
“ITB Berlin will be hosting one of the knowledge sessions focusing on responsible tourism and new avenues in the industry,” Mr Desai said.
The event, which is a B2B platform promoting Goa's tourism with special focus on hinterland tourism, has been themed as ‘Unearth the Hidden Treasures of Goa'.
Destination goa
Mr Desai asserted 400 buyers and sellers from 28 countries including Singapore, South Africa, UK, Italy, Poland, Russia, Thailand, the US, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Latvia, France and the Middle East would be participating in the event.
The State Tourism Director, Mr Swapnil Naik, said Goa, known as a beach destination, now wants to concentrate on the hinterlands.
“We have received a centrally sponsored project of Rs 74 crore to upgrade the tourism infrastructure,” he said, adding of the total allocation, 60 per cent would be spent on hinterland tourism facilities.
Goa attracts 2.6 million tourists of which 0.4 million are foreigners and earns revenue of Rs 6,000-7,000 crore, which is next to mining industry in the State.
Mr Naik said the State Government has coined a special scheme to promote construction of hotels in the rural Goa.
“The State Government will pay a subsidy of Rs 50,000 a room to the maximum of five rooms for such hotels. In addition, State-run Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is ready to finance such projects,” he added.