Hotels in Goa will re-open today with the Government deciding to re-commence tourism services for domestic travellers only.
Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar announced that Goa will be open for tourism from 2nd July onwards. The tourism industry in the State will re-open for Indian travellers but with conditions in place such as booking of only those hotels approved by the Tourism Department.
The Tourism department had asked hotels wishing to restart business to register with it and has now granted permission to 250 hotels to resume operations as long as they follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) put in place by the State Government.
There are certain SOPs that tourists travelling to the state will have to follow.
- Tourists have to carry a COVID-19 certificate within a stipulated 48-hour window or get mandatorily tested in the State.
- Tourists will be sent to the respective hotel which they have booked themselves into where they will be tested. They will have to stay put in the hotel until they are tested and results are declared.
- People who test positive will be given an option of returning to their respective States or staying back in Goa for treatment.
- Tourists have to mandatorily pre-book their stay at hotels which have received the Tourism Department’s approval.
- Hotels and homestays that have not been registered with the department to reopen business will not be allowed to entertain guests or offer online bookings.
- There will be a crackdown on hotels and guest houses which are not registered with the tourism department but are offering stay facilities via app-based room aggregators.
- Tourists who used to stay illegally in non-registered hotels booked through app aggregator services or in guesthouses will not be allowed and will be deemed as illegal.
