GTDC to start heli-tours in Goa by May 2020

PANAJI: Three years after helicopter rides for tourists were discontinued in the state, the ambitious plan of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) to have a helipad for heli-tours is set to take off with the government awarding the work to a company called Rohit Equipments for Rs 3.03 crore.
The work will commence in October 2019 and will be completed by May 2020, Allan Pereira, executive engineer, GTDC, told TOI.
While the helipad is being constructed at Ela, Old Goa, the work is being undertaken by GTDC under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the union ministry of tourism to promote heli-tourism in the state, said Pereira. It is being constructed within a plot area of 20,920 sqm belonging to the state’s department of tourism.
Periera said that GTDC had proposed to restart heli-tourism in Goa after the helipad was ready to commission rides.
“The main work to be carried out is creating vacuumed dewatered flooring (VDF) for the helipad, hot mixing of the approach road, compound wall, illumination and so on,” said Pereira.
The helipad at Ela, Old Goa, though owned by the government, needs to be redeveloped as it has been out of use for long. “It is an ideal location as it is closer to Panaji,” said Pereira. An added benefit is that Old Goa is already a famed tourist attraction. “Only some advertisement is necessary to do the trick,” he added.
In 2016, GTDC had introduced helicopter rides from the helipad located at Fort Aguada, North Goa. However, the project was stopped due to opposition from locals. It was then shifted to South Goa and operated from a helipad belonging to an upscale hotel. The rides were discontinued in 2017 as the logistics of transporting tourists to the South Goa venue were affecting profitability.
“The launch of helicopter rides will add one more attraction to the adventure tourism portfolio of the state. It will be a big attraction point for tourists; they will get a mesmerising sky-view of the state through different circuits of heli-tours,” said Pereira.
Presently, Goa has many adventure tourism activities such as hot air balloon rides, battery operated cycle rides, hop-on, hop-off luxury bus tours, scuba diving, bungee jumping, sea rafting and white-water rafting.