Tag Archives: Goa

Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs & Minister of Co-operation,  has said that Goa was the most preferred tourism destination in the world and hence PM Modi has taken a decision to allow charter airplanes to fly into Goa from October 15. Also, he added that Mopa airport should be ready in one year and will enhance tourism. “With Goa achieving 100 per cent vaccination, the situation is conducive for tourism,” he claimed.

The tourism department of Goa issued notice to several hotels against putting up in rented villas and bed and breakfast facilities that were not registered with the state tourism department. Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said that booking a non-registered hotel will soon be considered illegal and strict actions will be taken on bookings going ahead. Due to non-registration of such facilities, it was difficult to track the exact number of tourists who visit Goa every year, he added.

Sarovar Hotels have signed a new Golden Tulip hotel in Goa. It will be the group’s 4th hotel in Goa, which is nestled amidst the picturesque and peaceful green hills of Arpora. Golden Tulip, Arpora upon completion in 2023 will have 50 well-appointed rooms and suites encased beautifully by quaint architecture that reflects Goa’s history and culture. Golden Tulip, Arpora aims to promote tourism in the area and offer high- quality service and stay options. Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, said “We are delighted to expand and strengthen our Golden Tulip’s leisure portfolio in this market which is a very popular destination among Indian and international tourists. We believe the hotel’s location with Sarovar’s signature hospitality will deliver a notable experience to business and leisure guests alike.”

The high court of Bombay at Goa on Monday permitted the state government to allow the entry of fully-vaccinated persons in Goa without a COVID-19 negative test report. Partially vaccinated and non-vaccinated persons will still have to produce a negative Covid test report for entry. The expert committee has also unanimously agreed and decided to explore the possibility of issuing a universal pass which is linked to the Co-Win portal as adopted and issued by the government of Maharashtra.

Pramod Sawant, CM, Goa, has said that they have no plans to open the tourism sector in the state, and the state curfew has been extended for another week. He said, “We are seeing an average of one or two COVID deaths daily and the case positivity rate has been down around 2%.” While curfew restrictions are in force since May, the state has seen increased tourist arrivals. Sawant has requested people to take precautions.

Indian LCC SpiceJet has introduced daily non-stop flights from Rajkot to Goa and Hyderabad. Flights will depart Rajkot at 14:00 hrs for Goa and at 19:45 hrs for Hyderabad. The return flight from Goa will depart at 17:05 hrs and that from Hyderabad will depart at 06:05 hrs. The carrier has also added to its Rajkot-Mumbai frequency, departing at 07:30 hrs and 05:40 hrs, respectively.

First direct flight has been launched between Rajkot and Goa, which will be operated by SpiceJet. The daily flight will leave from Goa Airport at 2pm and will arrive at Rajkot Airport at 7:25pm. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Cabinet Minister, Civil Aviation, in a tweet called it a historic day for Saurashtra.

Pramod Sawant, CM, Goa, has informed the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) that the state’s hospitality sector would open fully only after the positivity rate drops below 5%. Tourism activities will not be reopened in Goa until everybody in the state gets at least one dose of the vaccine, he said. The CM added that the administration is aiming to achieve this goal by 31 July. “The government will permit full-fledged opening of the industry when the case positivity rate is below 5%.”

Sanjay Wadhawan, a hotelier with 42 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality space, has begun a new innings with his team – Sehar Shamim and US Jamwal – by launching a fully serviced, luxury homestay brand ‘Earthaa Escapes’. The company’s flagship property, Aranya, at Mashobra, has seen great response within a couple of months of its launch and is running at 100% occupancy. Earthaa Escapes is poised to launch its next two properties in the Delhi-NCR region by mid-July, and is in final negotiations with 15 homeowners for signing them on to its platform. Earthaa will also shortly launch a riverside villa in Goa, and already has few other villas under discussion. The first phase of expansion will target states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa. Earthaa Escapes is also all set to launch its own booking engine and website soon.

Goa recorded highest RevPAR in absolute terms, despite the single digit decline of RevPAR by 1.1% in Q1 2021 as compared to Q1 2020, revealed JLL’s Hotel Momentum India (HMI) Q1 2021. The report highlighted that Bengaluru saw the sharpest decline of 60.6% in RevPAR compared to the same period of the previous year. High demand from domestic leisure travelers make Goa the fastest recovering market in absolute RevPAR terms