The Goa government’s decision to regulate water sports has been welcomed by the coastal state’s apex travel and tourism body, which said visitors will be unhappy and head elsewhere if they are overcharged.
The Goa bench of the Bombay High court recently ordered the state tourism department to introduce a "queue system" for water sports. Following the order, the department started state-run counters to regulate the recreational activity.
Nilesh Shah, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, said such a step was necessary as many water sports overcharge customers, which brings a bad name to the state.
“When there is a system, it is beneficial to everyone. With this, the safety angle will also come into the picture,” he said. Shah said a lot of “incidents” with regard to water sports are not getting reported.
“Safety standards will be improved once there is the regulation of the activity. Pricing will be regularised,” he said. For the growth of Goa’s water sports industry, Shah said, it must follow the law of the land. “Looking at the (current) situation, tourists will turn their back on Goa and will go to places like Malvan in Sindhudurg (Maharashtra),” he said.
