| Overview
Goa
is best known as a tourist paradise, both in India and abroad.
Lavishly gifted by nature for its scenic beauty, virgin beaches
girdling its 105-km long palm-fringed coast interspersed with
enchanting coves, bays and estuaries, paddy fields, shady coconut,
cashew and mango groves dotted with tiny picturesque villages,
temples and churches renowned for worship and pilgrims, forts
and monuments and above all, friendly and hospitable people, Goa
presents an ideal tourism profile.
Tourism
is so prominent that the number of tourists almost equals the
number of state population.
Goa
attracts almost 12% of total foreign tourists arriving in India.
In terms of direct charters, it is 75% of the total direct charter
traffic in India. To give a big fillip to hospitality industry
in the state, the Department of Tourism has taken multi-pronged
strategy involving both private and government organisations.
Acts
Tourism
Taxes
Hoteliers,
travel trade and tourists have benefited tremendously with the
declaration of Tourism as an Industry in Goa. Luxuries provided
in a hotel include accommodation and other services / facilities
like air conditioning, telephone, radio, music, entertainment,
extra beds and the like, swimming pool, health club, tennis court,
golf course and shopping arcade. The luxury tax is governed by
the Goa Tax on Luxuries (Hotels and Lodging Houses) Act, 1988.
Cooked food and non-alcoholic drinks served or sold in a hotel
attract a sale tax from 4% to 12% subject to the Goa Sales Tax
Act, 1964 (the 6th schedule, clause V of sub-section
7).
Organisations
THE
DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
The
Department of Tourism, Government of Goa, is instrumental in planning
and providing the basic tourist infrastructure and other tourist
facilities/amenities as well as promoting Goa as a round the year
tourist destination by participating in various tourist related
events in India and overseas and through tourist publicity literature
and other publications. It also exercises control over hotels
and travel trade activities through regulatory measures, under
the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982
Over
the yars, the tourist arrivals into Goa has grown to about 1.2
millions annually almost corresponding to the population of the
State.
The
Goa Tourism Development Corporation Limited was set up wayback
in 1982 for the sole purpose of running commercial activities
of the Departmental including accommodation units, sight-seeing
tours and cruises for the benefit of tourists in the low and middle
income groups who constitute bulk of the tourist traffic to Goa.
For
more Information , please visit Goa
Tourism Web Site
THE
GOA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (GTDC)
The
Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), set up on 30th
March, 1982, looks after the commercial aspects :
ACCOMMODATION:
13 GTDC-run Tourist Hostels with 550 rooms and 1,307 beds.
TRANSPORT:
For sightseeing tours by Road Transport, the GTDC has 17 coaches
including AC, luxury and mini coaches, with 350 seats. The corporation
also runs 1 launch known as Santa Monica, which is very popular
for river cruises.
SOUVENIRS:
Through Handicrafts Corporation Emporia, the GTDC helps sell of
souvenirs like brass items, clay items and shell items, besides
items carrying GTDC logo like T-shirts, shorts, candles, books,
maps, etc.
PACKAGES:
The GTDC has been selling since 1994-1995 complete tour packages
through agents in cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, etc, which
include accommodation, sightseeing, river cruises, gift items,
transfers, etc
For
more details visit to :
http://www.goa-tourism.com
http://www.goatourism.org
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