PANAJI: Department of tourism on Thursday held a meeting with the coastal police and officials of department of fisheries as well as Captain of Ports from the safety and security angle of the seaplane, which would be introduced in the state from the end of this month for attracting more tourists.
Minister for Tourism Dilip Parulekar later told the reporters that the meeting discussed 4-5 probable locations, where the tourists arriving at the Dabolim airport would be brought by the seaplane.
“Those tourists, who arrive at the Dabolim Airport and desire to use the seaplane to travel to or near their place of accommodation, could use this service,” he added, pointing out that the probable locations where the seaplane would land are in Arabian Sea near Dona Paula, Chapora River, Mandovi River along Old Goa and so on.”
Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) chairman Nilesh Cabral, who attended the meeting and the related presentation, said that an agency authorised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would soon be appointed to conduct search, including frisking, if needed, of the passengers arriving by the seaplane. “Such measures may have to be taken from the security angle,” he observed.
“Presently, we will be putting into service a 4-seater seaplane and since the seats are limited, the rate per head for a joy ride would be Rs 2,000,” Cabral said, adding that in the near future, a 12-seater seaplane would be introduced, when the rates could go down due to the more number of seats.
Department of tourism had conducted trial seaplane landings on the Mandovi River, amidst protests by the fishermen communities. The trials formed a part of an initiative to boost tourism to the state.
Goa State Tourism had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Energy Heli AIR Services Pvt Ltd (MEHAIR) to launch the seaplane service in Goa. Goa is the second state after Maharashtra to have such a service.
Incidentally, the tourism department is also planning to provide CCTV facility at all the beaches around Goa, to provide security for the tourists.