TLF should be discontinued

Goa tourist trade wants visa-on-arrival

PANAJI: Temporary Landing Facility (TLF) that immigration authorities of Goa have has been giving out in large numbers might have alarmed our security agencies, but the tourist trade here feels that the facility of visa-on-arrival, if not TLFs, should be made available to keep the industry vibrant in the state.

Tourism sources here say the NDA government had mooted a proposal for visas on arrival for citizens from select countries, but the changed security scenario in the wake of terror attacks forced the proposal on back burner.

Therefore, TLFs have quietly become the alternative to visa-on-arrival. Ernest Dias, vice-president of Sita World Travels, says there is a lesson to be learnt from the countries that have made the facility of visa-on-arrival available. ‘‘Instead of costly tourism promotion, this would be a better option,’’ he says. He cites Thailand and Bali in Indonesia where tourism has boomed with the introduction of this tourist-friendly facility.

According to Serafino Cota, president of the Federation of Small and Medium Hotels, it is not enough for hotels to offer the right price, but give tourists the ease of getting there. He says: ‘‘And it all begins with visas. Agents get visas for a price. If that money is saved, the tourist would spend it here. If we want tourists, why they should be made to struggle to get visas?’’ Ralph DSouza, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, says, ‘‘When a travel group expands at the last moment, it becomes difficult for them all to obtain visas. If visas on arrival becomes a travel practice, it would be a great benefit.’’

He, however, adds that security concerns should be addressed first. ‘‘If you want visas-on-arrival, our intelligence system and other infrastructure needs to be in place.’’ Another industry leader who did not want to be named added, ‘‘It’s a good idea but checks and balances are needed. Our intelligence agencies would have to be armed in advance with sufficient data of people landing at the airport.’’ Calling for a comprehensive look at the tourism policy, former Union minister of state for external affairs Eduardo Faleiro said, ‘‘Visa-on-arrival is a global trend as travel has become easier and much cheaper, but security concerns have to be addressed in a manner that is effective and pleasant.’’

Goa SP (immigration) Tony Fernandes said enquiries have revealed that tourists in some countries like Russia have had to wait two weeks or more for their visas and issuance of temporary landing permits facilitates their time-bound itinerary.

The above shows the narrow mindedness of Indians.
Anything for business.
When the rest of the world is taking care to control who enters
their country,our people are interested in making it free for all.
They give the example of Thailand and Bali.
Both these countries have hardly had any terrorist attacks.
We are surrounded by enemies on the east (Bangladesh),
North (China) and West (Pakistan).
We should be even more vigilant than the USA and not less.
Yes, we can be a bit lenient for friendly countries who do
not encourage terrorists. We should make visa availabilty easier
for passport holders of those countries.
Otherwise it is not going to take the terrorists long to discover the
loopholes and enter the country in hordes.
There is no point in blaming the world when we ourselves
are underlings, out to make quick money.
All persons entering the country should have their finger prints,
iris and DNA recorded and compared with the records available in USA.
A data base should be built up by us also of all our criminals and jailbirds.
We lost thousands of crores on 26/11.
We cannot jeopardise the nation's security just to please some hoteliers and travel agents.