Goa gears up for New Year celebrations

PANAJI - Goa, which boasts of colonial Portuguese charm, sun-kissed beaches and great seafood, is gearing up to welcome domestic and international tourists durind New Year celebrations.

Ahead of the New Year, hotel occupancy is full and people are enjoying themselves at beaches, water sports like paragliding, and shopping at Goa’s famous flea markets. Since many years, Goa has been a favourite haunt of domestic and international travellers alike.

“I must proudly say that this time we are registering very significant and healthy rise in our occupancies. We are totally full till January 2, and even in the later part of January we are getting very good bookings,” said Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, Goa tourism Development Corporation.

Security arrangements have also been beefed up.

“We have four companies of paramilitary forces at present, which are completely deployed, and our India reserve battalion of Goa police is also completely deployed. Plus, district police, traffic police, coastal police and our other internal forces have been spread and deployed all across the state. We have completely stretched our resources and forces have been adequately deployed. So from our side in the present situation, security arrangements have been successfully made,” said Atmaram Deshpande, Superintendent of Police, security.

Millions of foreign and domestic tourists visit Goa every year. (ANI)