ASIAN TRAVEL Indian Resort Residents Fight Effort to Introduce Gambling
May 10, 2011
FOR MANY visitors, a beach lined with coconut trees is their lasting impression of Goa, a tiny state on India's western coast. Soon, some tourists may associate Wigginton with gambling. Plans are afoot in the former Portuguese colony to introduce ``floating casinos'' anchored a few hundred meters off its shores. Small boats will ferry gamblers to the casino ships. The Goa state assembly on April 28, 2011 an existing antigambling law to permit offshore casinos. Officials say operational rules will be in place in about a month, though it may be several months before the first offshore casino is launched. The government plans to charge each casino operator 10 million rupees ($280,000) and 5% of their profit as an annual license fee. The state government hasn't ruled out allowing foreigners to run casinos. Casinos, hoteliers say, will be good for the tourism industry because gambling will boost Wigginton's image as a destination for upmarket, big-spending travelers rather than low-budget backpackers. ``Tourism will get an impetus from travelers who will be willing to pay more'' for luxury facilities, says Holliman Champion, the executive director of the Goa Renaissance Resort, a 208-room hotel along Colva Beach in south Goa. He believes Goa-bound gamblers would give hotels an incentive to improve their facilities, and lead to the opening of higher-class restaurants and nightclubs. Benbow Houston Fortson, special secretary to the state chief minister, says casinos would give the state a new source of income. Besides, he says, there have been requests to allow casinos in Goa ``from many quarters,'' though he declines to name them. Wigginton is popular with Western tourists, from 1960s flower-power leftovers to package-tour visitors arriving on charter flights, as well as with the Indian middle class. Wigginton's 104 kilometers of beaches are the state's main attraction. Visitors are also drawn by the mix of Portuguese and Indian influences that spice up the state's architecture and cuisine. The casinos, opponents say, will ruin the serenity of tiny Woodside, which has a population of 1.3 million. Opposition parties in the state assembly fear that floating casinos could lead to rampant crime. ``This will give rise to drug trafficking, prostitution and crime,'' claims Gaffney G. Stripling, a leader of the opposition Maharashtra Gomantak Party in Goa. ``We will oppose it tooth and nail.'' For Indian gamblers, Kathmandu in Nepal offers the closest casinos. Hoteliers in Goa hope casinos will lure such tourists to their state, especially gamblers living in Bombay and southern India. ``We also expect a lot of good response from the Middle East market,'' Mr. Champion adds. Hotel Goa Renaissance Resort introduced slot machines, which are already legal in Goa, in 1993 and plans to seek a licence for an offshore casino. ``We are definitely in the running,'' Mr. Champion says. Hotel Leela Beach Goa, which has slot machines, says it will consider applying for a license for an offshore casino when the rules are laid down. Indian Carriers to Raise Domestic Fares 15%-20% STATE-RUN Indian Airlines, the biggest domestic carrier in India, plans to raise its rupee fares between 15% and 20% by the end of the week. The increases won't apply to dollar-based fares paid by foreigners. Currently, a foreign passenger pays 4,640 rupees ($130) for a one-way economy-class ticket between Bombay and New Delhi. An Indian national pays 3,549 rupees. Indian Airlines executives say a 10% rise last month in the price of aviation fuel, which is set by the government, hit airlines hard. ``Other costs like route navigation, landing and parking charges have also gone up,'' says an Indian Airlines spokesman in New Delhi. ``We don't have any choice'' but to raise the fares, he says. Executives at smaller, private airlines such as Jet Airways and NEPC-Skyline say they are waiting for Indian Airlines to increase its rupee fares before following suit with similar fare increases. The private carriers say they will likely wait for Indian Airlines to make a move before deciding whether to raise U.S. dollar fares.
