Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte recently led a delegation to Bolsa Turismo Lisboa (BTL) Portugal with the aim to bolster the industry. He stated that Goa and Portugal have agreed to explore best practices in tourism and innovative technologies to bring better experiences for visitors to the state.
The delegation – which also included Goa secretary of Tourism & IT Sanjeev Ahuja and officer on special duty
(OSD) to minister Shawn Mendes – held a series of meetings with the Portuguese minister of Economy and Maritime Affairs Antonio Costa Silva, MasterCard’s vice president of Global Tourism Innovation Hub Quim Martínez Bosch, Amadeus IT Group’s head of Strategic Projects Ramón Sánchez Alvarez, Altino Alvares executive president of the Portugal India Business Hub, Portuguese state secretary for Tourism & Commerce Nuno Fazenda, Indian ambassador in Portugal Manish Chauhan, TAP Group CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener and CEO of Oceanario De Lisboa Joao Falcato.
With minister of the Economy and Maritime Affairs Antonio Costa Silva, Khaunte discussed various possibilities with regards to development in tourism and exchanged their ideas concerning the growth of tourism, exploring best practices and innovative technologies as well as alternative fuels and the startup ecosystem. Goa and Portugal will collaborate and share ideas, knowledge, and sign a memorandum of understanding in Tourism and IT soon.
MasterCard’s Martínez Bosch discussed the possibilities of sharing technologies in the tourism sector. MasterCard identified the inclusion of Goa as part of the Global Tourism Innovation Hub Programme and MasterCard’s Priceless Experiences Programmes as low hanging fruits.
Khaunte added that different
aspects of innovative practices in travel technology targeted to yield high-end buyers were discussed with Amadeus IT Group’s Sánchez Alvarez.
His interaction with the Portugal India Business Hub head brought forth assurances of a business exchange
between Portugal and Goa. With Fazenda, Khaunte explored a wide range of joint possibilities in hospitality and tourism.
Indian ambassador Chauhan gave him deep insights regarding business and investment possibilities in tourism information technology.
Increasing air connectivity between Portugal and Goa is key and with the inauguration of Manohar International Airport at Mopa, the possibility of a new route was discussed in a meeting with TAP Group’s Ourmières-Widener. She requested her team to study the route and explore possibilities. The same sentiment was also discussed with World 2 Meet Travel and HiFly.
Khaunte met Falcato for better insights in understanding the infrastructural requirements, business opportunities and viability of setting up a world-class oceanarium in Goa.
Khaunte said it was a fruitful visit to Portugal since numerous opportunities were explored during various meetings with high-ranking stakeholders for growth of the tourism and IT sectors in Goa.
