- Goa Tourism will provide grants to women operating homestays and B&Bs within the next three days
- A total of 100 women will be helped this year to develop tourism outside of popular zones
- The first three awardees of the grant are Neerja Residency (Sattari), Cozy Home (Ponda), and Jungle Trails (Sancorda)
The Goa Tourism Department will begin to release grants under the Homestay and Bed & Breakfast Scheme to women entrepreneurs in the next three days.
This year, the scheme will cover 100 women beneficiaries as part of a drive to spread tourism to areas outside the state's usual hotspots.
Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte presented grant letters to the initial three beneficiaries—Neerja Residency in Sattari, Cozy Home in Ponda, and Jungle Trails in Sancorda—under the ongoing Sewa Pakhwada programme.
All three homestays will be awarded ₹2 lakh for furniture and fittings, enabling them to standardise their services to industry levels.
"Homestays don't only support a household—they support village communities," Rohan said, adding that the scheme reinforces community-based tourism and empowers women.
Moreover, the Tourism and IT departments together identified 30 women innovators and entrepreneurs, who are lifeguards, operators of citizen service centres, and drone operators, for their roles in Goa's economy and the tourism industry.
