The Tourism Information Counter at the KTC bus stand Panjim has remained shut and out of operations for several months. Thousand of tourists who come to Panjim are left searching for information which has resulted in chaos and misinformation for many. While Tourism is the main stay of Goan economy the much-needed infrastructure continues to be neglected.
Tourists are seen wandering
all over the bus stand scrambling to get information from shops and kiosks. A
notice has been pasted on the entrance of the KTC bus stand regarding this information
Counter at shop no 5. However, the Counter is not in operation now. The issue was
raised by GOACAN NGO. GOACAN has demanded immediate action and restoration of services
to the Counter.
According to the Tourism Policy Tourism is the back bone of
Goan economy, with 40% of the population directly or indirectly dependent on
it. The sector has shown strong growth with total tourist arrivals increasing
from 2.3 million in 2005 to 7.8 million in 2017, an annual growth of nearly
11%.
The tourist mix is dominated by domestic tourists that
comprise nearly 89% of total tourist arrivals. A large number of domestic
tourists use interstate buses for their travel to Goa and further to their
preferred destinations in the State. In absence of information counters, the tourists
are left searching for necessary info which has been creating an unpleasant experience
for thousands of tourists.