If you don't advertise, you may not survive: Tourism Minister

Goa Government today defended its decision to appoint a public relations agency to undertake wider publicity of the tourist state saying even popular global brands constantly advertise their products to boost sales and attract new customers.
Speaking in the Assembly, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar cited the example of an internationally-acclaimed toothpaste brand to justify the Government's move.
"Right from my childhood I know that Colgate is a well -established brand of toothpaste. But despite their popularity, you can see they advertise their product everywhere. Because they know if they don't advertise, they may not survive," he said.
He was explaining the rationale behind employing a PR firm to publicise Goa globally through a campaign.

"Goa Tourism and Goa Tourism Development Corp have decided to tell the world what Goa offers to them through this publicity campaign. Whatever is available in Goa needs to be showcased," he said.
The Minister said the states like Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat spend crores of rupees on advertising themselves.

"We don't want to lose in competition with them."
Parulekar said the state needs more time to create necessary infrastructure on beaches, the main tourist attraction in Goa, which draws over two million vacationers every year.
"While promoting new tourist ventures, we need to sustain our existing strength, which is beach tourism," Parulekar stated.