Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Wednesday said that the coastal state will be open for tourists starting July 2, as 250 hotels have been granted permission to resume operations.
"Bookings will only be allowed in hotels registered with the tourism department. Tourists who used to illegally stay in non registered hotels (booked through app aggregator services) or in unregistered guest houses will not be allowed. It will be deemed illegal," Ajgaonkar said, adding that nearly 250 hotels registered with the state tourism department have been granted permission for the resumption of hospitality services.
The Minister also said that for a tourist to enter the state, he or she will have to carry a Covid-19 negative certificate within the stipulated 48-hours window or get tested mandatorily in Goa.
"We will have a checking mechsm for the examination of these certificates at entry points. If the tourists do not carry the certificate, they will be sent to the respective hotel which they have booked into and their testing would be conducted," Ajgaonkar said.
"Once the test is negative, only then will the tourist will be allowed to move out. Until then, he/she will have to stay put in the hotel itself," Ajgaonkar said.
The Minister also said that with major states like Maharashtra and cities like Hyderabad opening up, Goa could not afford to lag behind in the tourism sector.
As per the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday the state had 1,315 confirmed COVID-19 cases. This includes 716 active cases and 596 cured and discharged patients. Three deaths have been reported due to the infection so far in Goa.
( With inputs from ANI )