Tourism now a year-long affair, need to be alert: Goa CM

Panaji, July 20 (IANS) With tourism in Goa now a 365-day phenomenon, adequate security measures need to be taken and people need to be alert, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a function organised by Goa Police to induct a batch of 69 motorcycles and seven jeeps into the force.

"Goa should be alert on all 365 days because tourism season in Goa is now for all 12 months," Parsekar said.

On Monday, Parsekar had said that he raised the issue of enhanced security for Goa at the inter-state council meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Parsekar had said that Goa should not be looked at from the prism of a small state, because tourist arrivals every year are almost three times the state's resident population which is around 1.5 million.

Speaking at the function, Parsekar also underlined the need for thorough tenant verification process in order to establish the identity of the tenant, especially those living in Goa for a short duration.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country and attracts over four lakh tourists every year. However, in the recent past intelligence reports have suggested the state has been used as a soft destination. Several terror suspects, including Yasin Bhatkal and David Headley, used Goa as a place for lying low and conducting recce.