Casinos in Goa are set to reopen for tourists from Monday. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that people who have either been fully vaccinated or have RTPCR reports should be allowed to visit these casinos.
He said that the state government’s expert committee is of the opinion that casinos, spas, massage parlors can reopen but major events like sunburn music festival have not been allowed yet. “The expert committee of the state government compared the Covid-19 positivity rate in the last two-three weeks and found it to be less than 2 per cent. Hence to revive economic activity and tourism activity, casinos have been allowed to reopen on Monday with strict SOPs,” Sawant said.
Dr Shekhar Salkar, member of the expert committee, said the reopening of casinos, river cruises, massage parlors and spas was recommended in compliance with all COVID-19 safety protocols, and issued SOPs for reopening on Sunday from the government. expected to do.
Goa has six offshore casinos on the Mandovi River not far from the state capital Panaji, and about a dozen others run inside major hotels. Casinos, which employ thousands of people and generate massive revenue for the state government, are expected to revive the state’s tourism industry, which has seen only modest growth since July.
Industry stakeholders said that with the reopening of casinos, allied tourist activities like hotels, restaurants, taxi services may pick up their businesses as the peak tourist season approaches. According to sources, the state government’s average annual earning in license fee from casinos is over Rs 320 crore – with the government earning around Rs 1,000 crore in taxes for allied activities such as restaurants, hotels, tourist vehicles etc.
The offshore casinos at Mandovi pay entry fees and local taxes to the Panaji city corporation and around Rs 25 lakh for a license to the excise department. Sources said the excise department also levies consumption charges on every bottle of liquor in the casino. Casinos that have become an integral part of tourism in Goa attract both domestic and international tourists. In such a situation, the decision to open casinos can see a lot of boom in the tourism industry in the coming time.