Goa tourism minister meets Chiranjeevi for sops

Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar met union Minister for Tourism K. Chiranjeevi Tuesday in New Delhi to lobby for a financial package to beef up Goa's tourism-related infrastructure.

In a statement issued here, the state tourism ministry said that Goa also sought better exposure for itself at national and international tourism promotion programmes undertaken by the union ministry, as well as a trouble-free visa on arrival regime for foreign tourists coming to the beach state.

"Wide ranging discussions were held on various issues pertaining to visa on arrival policy, better facilities for foreign tourists at Goa Airport, higher funding for Goa's tourism infrastructure, better exposure for Goa in marketing and promotions undertaken by Ministry of Tourism in its Incredible India campaign," the statement says.

Goa, it says quoting Chiranjeevi, has a good scope for promoting Meetings Incentives Conferences and Entertainment (MICE) tourism and that the union ministry should push Goa's case as a MICE tourism destination.

Goa tourism in June sought a Rs.400 crore package for tourism infrastructure development, especially in the hinterland, where unemployment has risen due to the ban on iron ore mining.

Goa, one of the country's top beach tourism destinations, attracts over 2.6 million tourists annually, half a million of them foreigners.