Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Tourism and Information Technology speaks on the government’s plans on creating opportunities for the youth
I would like to congratulate my friend Harsh for hosting another successful edition of the Business Goa Awards. It gives everyone a platform to be motivated by what their performance in the past and creates an example for the rest to step into their shoes.
With regards to tourism and Information Technology the best people of both these industries are here today and their suggestions are something we work with.
Largely, the government and academia have been working together. I feel that every Goan should stop having the mindset of looking for a government job and have something of their own instead. I think we have much more to offer with tourism and IT and for the last one year we have brought out some interesting policies. The airport at Mopa is going to be a game changer, while tier 2 and tier 3 cities are getting connected.
We are looking at spirituality, wellness verticals, and various verticals of tourism. Post covid we have learnt that Goa is no longer a place of sun, sand and sea only. In this age of competition, we have to place ourselves on a higher level and start looking at the hinterlands while creating more immersive experiences for the tourists who visit Goa. We need to learn how to look at new emerging markets, both international and domestic, in terms of getting new tourists and more than the numbers it is quality that matters.
Coming to IT as policies are making headway, the concept of digital nomads is making an impact in the world. These digital nomads contribute to almost 35% of the economy, increase the talent pool, and help the local ecosystem.
The last one year has involved a lot of thought process and hard work along with our Chief Minister to work along these lines. In the next six months to one year, the government will start seeing a lot of things based on Mopa, based on our youth and we are on the path of creating opportunities for our youngsters, so that we don’t face any more brain drain.
We want our Goans to be here and want them to enjoy their fish, curry rice which they enjoy the most. We Goans are one of a kind. We work the entire day but, in the evening, we want to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. We want to retain our ‘Goemkarponn’ in Goa. We have a lot of stalwarts present here today, especially from the hospitality industry who have received awards.
I take this opportunity to congratulate all of you and think it is time for all of us to put these ideas together, start working on it and make Goa what all of us dream about. People like Vincent Ramos from Taj, for example, have started creating an ecosystem in terms of homestays and other ideas and we are creating policies around these ideas.
I can talk about a whole lot of ideas but we are in a phase where a lot of things needs to be done and it is your support that we look forward to, in order to carry out our ideas.
As stakeholders you all have a role to play and I am sure we will all play this role together
