Goa tourism dept didn't promote casinos at Dubai event: Govt

The Goa tourism department did not promote casinos at a recent event held in Dubai, the Assembly was informed on Wednesday.

Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar rubbished media reports that his department promoted casinos during the Arabian Travel Mart at Dubai.

The Goa tourism department was one of the participants at the four-day event held in April-May.

Ajgaonkar, in a written reply in the House, said there was a news report about promotion of casinos in Goa by the tourism department during its participation in the event.

"However, the said news item was not endorsed by the department, he said in reply to a question by Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco (Congress).

 

Presence of casinos in Goa, which has half a dozen such floating facilities in the river Mandovi in Panaji, has been a controversial issue with a section of citizens and also some political parties demanding that they be shutdown.

Responding to another question, Ajgaonkar said there has been no drop in arrival of foreign tourists in Goa in the last five years.

However, he said, there was a decline in the number of chartered flights from Russia in 2018-19.

"Probably, the global recession and the meltdown, curbs in issuing of visas could be responsible for decrease in flow of charters," the minister said.