Panaji: The state cabinet on Saturday approved the next phase of Goa’s tourism master plan and tourism policy, describing it as a long-term roadmap to steer the future growth of the tourism sector.The projects include Goan Waters, Eco & Nature Tourism, Spiritual, Heritage & Culture, Adventure Tourism, MICE Tourism, Leisure & Entertainment, Wellness & Medical Tourism, tourism infrastructure, tourism statistics and analytics, capacity building, marketing and promotion, stakeholder engagement, and digitisation.The cabinet approved the extension of KPMG Advisory Services Pvt Ltd’s services to prepare the plan. The consultant will be paid Rs 8 lakh per month.State govt had constituted an evaluation committee chaired by the secretary (tourism), with state govt officials and industry stakeholders, including the Travel & Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI), an economist and a tourism marketing expert. The committee reviewed and evaluated progress on the tourism master plan and tourism policy. It also examined phase I module reports and recommended them to govt.The cabinet said the consultant submitted reports on all phase I modules, which were approved by both the evaluation committee and govt. It also approved additional work under phase II, beyond the original scope, without any extra financial burden on govt.The current contract for implementation of the master plan (Phase II) expired on March 31. According to the cabinet, KPMG’s role extends beyond routine advisory support to include project conceptualisation, research and benchmarking, stakeholder consultations, preparation of schemes, policies and guidelines, drafting tender and bid documents, bid process management support, evaluation support, and implementation assistance.“Several initiatives identified under the master plan are under implementation / in process, while certain initiatives are yet to be taken up and require continuity of technical support for effective execution,” the cabinet said.The cabinet said emerging initiatives aligned with national tourism priorities and Union tourism ministry’s initiatives.It said continuing with KPMG, which prepared and implemented the master plan and is familiar with the department’s priorities, project history, stakeholder ecosystem and implementation requirements, would ensure institutional continuity, avoid duplication of effort and support timely implementation of pending and ongoing initiatives.
