'Casinos important for tourism profile of Goa and cannot be written off', says CM Pramod Sawant

Casis are important for tourism profile of Goa and cant be written off, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said Tuesday. He was speaking to reporters after attending a meeting of state Tourism department.

"re are a few tourists who come to Goa to play in casis. y are important from tourism point of view. You cant write m off. We need to do whatever activities are required to attract tourists to Goa," he said.

He also said his government never spoke of removing casis from state.

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coastal state has six off-shore casis and 12 operating from land.

He said state government was planning a video campaign to boost tourism as foreign footfalls h decreased by 20 per cent in season that just ended this week.

Mr Sawant said forest safaris would be promoted in wildlife sanctuaries of state. Goa gets around six million tourists, most of m domestic, annually.

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Sawant took over as Chief Minister after demise of Mahar Parrikar in March.

Sawant has retained all portfolios, numbering over two dozens, which were with Parrikar. He h assured to allot some of m to his Cabinet colleagues in due course of time.

"Even if I h distributed portfolios, ministers would t have been able to work as code of conduct is in force," he said.