Goa has wish list for 'its own' union tourism minister

He also sought increased central funding for tourism infrastructure projects in the state, which has been facing a massive infrastructure crunch. The shortfalls include inadequate beach facilities, crowded roads, low quality power, etc.

"Being a Goan, he understands the tourism industry better and is best suited to do justice to the responsibility entrusted to him," Braganca said.

Speaking to IANS over phone from New Delhi, Naik said he would meet with the state's tourism industry stakeholders soon to chart out an action plan.

Naik also said he would expressly look into the demand of the travel industry to enable visa on arrival facilities to countries like the United Kingdom and Russia, which annually send the biggest contingents of foreign tourists to the state.

The travel and tourism industry claims that currently time-consuming visa processing facilities are proving to be a deterrent to foreign tourists from visiting Goa. The state is already facing competition domestically from Kerala and internationally from Sri Lanka and Thailand, which are also promoted as beach tourism destinations.

"I will be looking to speed up that request. It has been their demand for a long time," Naik said. Goa attracts over three million tourists annually, of whom half a million are foreign nationals.