Goa selects consortium to draft tourism master plan

Panaji, July 21 (IANS) A consortium of KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. and Tourism & Leisure Advisory Services Sl. (T&L) have been selected to prepare a 25-year tourism master plan for Goa, the state's tourism department said Monday.

Goa, a top beach tourism destination India, faces challenges like over-crowding, poor infrastructure and tourist-targeted crimes.

Goa Tourism, in a press statement, said the much-awaited Tourism Master Plan would include an "in-depth market survey of current and potential tourists, interactions with international and domestic tour operators, airlines and travel agents, Goa tourism trade interactions and general public interactions".

While the Tourism Master Plan is expected to be delivered within 38 weeks, a quantifiable action plan is also expected to follow, one which will aid its implementation, said the statement.

A government committee is expected to monitor the output put forward by the consultants on a regular basis, it said.

"The master plan will set a framework for deciding which tourism products to focus on and recommend where in Goa to set them up," said Tourism Director Nikhil Desai.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in India and attracts three million tourists annually, half a million of which are foreigners.

The seasonal tourism inflow is almost double the state's population, which in turn puts pressure on the state's infrastructure and triggers conflict between the local residents and tourists.