Headline: Goa to promote Virgin Islands as tourist spots Source: UNI via Yahoo India News. 20 Feb. 2004 at http://in.news.yahoo.com/040220/139/2blo1.html
The Virgin Islands referred to are presumably Grande and Pequeno islands and not Divar and Chorao. The article has other oddities (!) like: "Last year it allowed foreign chartered flights to land and fly out of Panaji." ============================== Full text: Panaji, Feb 20 (ANI): Goa is planning to promote its Virgin Islands as the country's major adventure tourism spot, a concept popular in neighbouring island countries, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The state government's new policy is expected to draw both international and domestic tourists who want to explore the natural beauty of these Islands. The state's Tourism Department has been urging the private sector to take up projects to bring new infrastructure to the remote islands to attract tourists. Tourism Director N. Suryanarayanan said the government would ensure environment protection while making the concept a reality. "Somebody can come by boat and see the corals, go for scuba diving and from morining to evening, there are lot of activities. To connect the two islands, we want to make an escalator type of rope-way and at the half way there should be some resting place and there would picnic spots. Without spoiling the environment, without creating anything restaurants or something, it will be a good spot for picnic." Although nearly a million tourists visit Goa, famous for its sun kissed beaches, every year, not many know about the islands around the western coastal resort. But those who enjoyed it said the experience was incredible. "We enjoyed specially the corals and all. It was really good, for children also it was a life-long experience. All over India, like in north...we are from north, there are no such beautiful places. So for those who are outside of Goa, it's a good experience," said Neelam Krishnamurthy, a tourist. The authorities hope that the concept would enable the tourists to enjoy various types of water sports like scuba diving, snorkeling, water diving and a glimpse of the corals. The state government has recently chalked out plans to market tourism extensively. Various up-market schemes also have been introduced to attract high-spending tourists to Goa. Last year it allowed foreign chartered flights to land and fly out of Panaji, a move aimed at giving a fillip to the tourism dependent economy of the state. The number of foreign tourists arriving in India in September jumped 23.5 percent from a year ago to 200,803 as the industry rebounded after a bad patch.(ANI) ======================== Forwarded by Eddie Fernandes. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
