Panaji, May 7 (IANS): Goa should use 'green zone' tag to good effect to revive the potential as tourism destination, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) said on Thursday.

At a video conference meet, attended by CII-Goa's tourism panel chief and top tourism officials of the state government, including Tourism Secretary J. Ashok Kumar, participants urged the Goa government to come up with a post Covid-19 tourism plan, after the pandemic scare ends.

"Since Goa is a 'green zone', it was also proposed that the government allocate a promotional campaign budget at the earliest requesting the Goa Tourism Development Corporation to roll out a digital campaign towards revival of the tourism, thus building confidence and highlighting Goa as Covid-free state," the CII-Goa said.

To kick-start the tourism industry, it also advocated a three-tier approach that included tapping state support, taking pro-industry policies and adequate precautionary measures and look for sustainable tourism promotion options.

The CII said the financial stress of payment of wages and salaries by the employer to the employees was a big challenge.

The tourism industry sought waiver of the licence fee for this year and automatically extend the renewal for a year to support the industry. "With most hotels going empty, it was proposed that the GST be reduced to 5-6 per cent from 12-18 per cent based on room-rate charged," it said.