Scrapping of Regional Plan may hit tourism in Goa

The scrapping of the controversial Regional Plan, 2011 may adversely affect Goa's tourism industry and slow down the pace of investment in the hospitality sector, according to experts. Two years ago, Goa had released the Tourism Masterplan 2004, a document outlining the vision for future growth of tourism. Several provisions of this document were included in the Regional Plan, which has now been denotified by the Goa government after strong protests from several quarters. "The Plan had envisaged robust tourism growth in the state, which is facing accomodation scarcity and becoming an expensive holiday destination," Nitin Kuncolienkar, President, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), said. The Plan, notified in August 2006, had proposed relaxation in rules to facilitate further residential and commercial constructions in coastal areas.

Its denotification may queer the pitch for further investments by the hospitality sector which has put in Rs 35,000 crore during the last two decades, experts said. "We have a shortage of a minimum of 5,000 hotel rooms. If there is a ban on further development and constructions, how can we manage to make up with this shortage ?" asked Nitin Kuncolienkar. GCCI's 'Goa Agenda', a comprehensive report on the state's tourism activities released a few months ago, quotes a 1989 study recommending a maximum hotel bed capacity of 46,000 in coastal areas. The figure is whopping, as according to 2003 statistics, the state has a bed capacity of 34,914 of which two-third was in the coastal areas.

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