In an effort to make Goa more accessible to tourists digitally, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has recently launched an e – commerce platform for tourism stake- holders in Goa to display their services. Goa happens to be the first state to launch such a service. A question does arise, how will the venture help the tourism sector? Which according to reports is not doing very well these days.
E – Commerce has been fast gaining ground across the world. To capitalize on this new growing industry GTDC has decided to roll out this new venture. It will display the services and products offered by the local tourism industry.
Dilip Parulekar, Hon’ble Minister for Tourism of Goa said, “ The web portal is designed in such a way that international and domestic visitors will be able to browse through various options right from choosing holiday packages, travel itineraries, hotel bookings, sight-seeing, adventure trips, spice gardens, water parks, crocodile dandis, dolphin trips and much more, with ease. Right from a pick-up at the airport to the activities available in Goa will be provided under this single portal,” As quoted on the official Goa Tourism website.
What is the potential of the venture?
The portal is open for a worldwide audience. Besides Hindi and English it is available in Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, German and French. Many businesses in Goa have already registered and can be viewed on the website.
“The new web portal provides an opportunity for locals to generate revenue thereby making it beneficial for residents of Goa and tourists alike. The suppliers will need to register under the GTDC web portal to avail the benefit as it is an opportunity to market their products and services worldwide.” Mr. Nilesh Cabral, Hon’ble Chairman of GTDC was quoted on the above mentioned source.
About the platform
The portal will allow a person to pre – book all the different activities he/she wants to do in Goa through the portal. A payment option allows the charges to be paid in advance. Along with choosing the date and time as per the convenience of the customer.
“The vision behind the platform is to be a holistic resource where one can educate oneself on the tourism offering of Goa. It will promote experiences unique to Goa and deliver value to not only the visitor but also all the tourism stakeholders that are contributing to make this vision a reality.” said Shawn Mendes, from QUB Tourism Services Pvt. Ltd as quoted on the official Goa tourism website.
The Platform was developed by QUB Tourism Services Pvt. Ltd and it will also be in-charge of maintaining and marketing the platform on national and international level. The company is said to have developed software application for over 100 travel websites besides being responsible for the marketing of noted travel brands. The GTDC has not funded the project and under a revenue sharing model will receive a part of the earnings.
Image credit
Wikipedia – Praveen from Bangalore
License – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
