‘Registration of hotel booking portals must’

Panaji: The tourism department has issued a fresh directive urging all online travel platforms to register with the department within 15 days. Tourism director Kedar Naik said that the department found several online travel aggregators accepting online bookings without obtaining the required no objection certificate (NOC), licence, or permissions from the department.Naik said that under the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982 and Rules of 1985, all online travel portals must complete their registration within 15 working days from the date of issue of the official circular. This is not the first time the department issued such a directive. In 2023, the tourism department directed hotels, guesthouses, homestays, and online travel agencies to register with the department before conducting any tourism-related transactions or activities in Goa. Then director of tourism Suneel Anchipaka threatened to impose hefty fines since offering services to tourists without registration was deemed illegal. A few weeks earlier, the department asked eco-tourism farms, watersports operators, and all other stakeholders to also register with the department.