The inauguration of the much awaited tourism projects and services got off to a historic start this morning with a colourful flag off to the Hot Air Balloon at Campal Ground in Panjim.

The Cameroon 180 will be part of the hot air balloon fleet that will be in operation in Goa taking tourists atop Goa’s picturesque landscaping and offering spectacular areal displays of the State’s tourism sites.

The Hot Air Balloon venture plans to cover the entire State of Goa in the months to come.

This adventure project will be operated by Camping Retreats of India Pvt. Ltd, Delhi based agency well known for its high standards of security, safety and customer service in conduct of tiger balloon safaris in India and abroad.

This was followed by the unveiling of the first of its kind in India for civilian use, Amphibious Vessels. This new venture is all set to give tourists a thrilling experience in Goa’s inland waterways, with tours to the State’s backwaters, crocodile dandies, bird watching trips and more.

The 33-seater passenger vessels can operate both on land and sea and will operate throughout Goa in over seven routes across five talukas.  The vessels are manufactured in Goa by Amphibious Design India.

Parsekar thereafter inaugurated Paryatan  Bhavan at Patto, which  houses offices of the Goa  Tourism Department and Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC).

Union Defence Minister. Manohar Parrikar hailed the government in the State for giving tourism in Goa a new dimension and taking it to greater heights.

“Goa is known for its beaches, churches, temples, event and festivals. Today it has   gone a step further with the introduction of new adventure activities that will draw tourists to Goa in large numbers,” Parrikar said.

“I congratulate the chief minister and tourism minister for the initiatives that will surely make Goa a leading tourism destination  both in the country and  world,” he  said.

Parsekar  said, “Goa  is determined  to  give   tourists   the best  services  and projects here in the  State  which  will  make them  think  of  Goa when they want to plan a vacation.”

Parulekar said, “It is a proud moment for Goa Tourism today as we have launched new projects and services in the State, both in terms of infrastructure, and innovative activities. This is the need of the hour for Goa Tourism as it wants its ventures to increase and grow every passing year so that tourists are attracted to the State and will come more often and increase their duration of stay.”

“Within the next few months many more new activities will be introduced and so will tourism development infrastructure projects be undertaken,” he said.