Fight the Recession!

MARGAO:  A new British government travel advisory has warned that favoured tourist destination Goa, and four major other cities, could be the target of future terror attack.

"Future attacks may target public places frequented by Westerners and expatriates, including the major metropolitan centres (Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai) and tourist areas such as Goa," says a travel advisory on the British government's foreign commonwealth office (FCO) website, which was updated on November 11.

The website has mentioned the 16 October Margao bomb blast as well as the 26-29 November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks in which over “190 people were killed and more than 325 were injured. British nationals were among the casualties”.
A more detailed state sub-section asks UK nationals to exercise caution when frequenting bars and other ‘watering holes’ in the coastal tourist state, especially when it comes to ‘spiked’ drinks.

The specific warning for British nationals in India, is in addition to a high general threat throughout the country, especially in public places and five-star hotels.

The advisory asks British nationals to exercise caution when frequenting bars and other watering holes in the coastal tourist state, especially when it comes to spiked.

"You should avoid beaches after dark where there is a risk of being attacked by packs of stray dogs, being robbed or sexually assaulted," the advisory states.

According to the FCO website, this advice is based on information received from UK’s consular sources, intelligence agencies, apart from other local sources. “All advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals -- your safety is our main concern. We know that our travel advice can have a knock-on effect on travel, trade and political considerations, but we do not let this influence the advice we give,” the website states.

The Goa government is sensitive to adverse advice from European countries, especially Britain, whose nationals account for the lion's share of the 400,000 odd foreign tourists who come to Goa each season.

In the high-profile Scarlett Keeling death, her mother had accused top politicians of protecting and being involved in the flourishing drug trade along the coast.
Incidentally, sources say that the high profile and often controversial Tourism Minister, Mr  Francisco Pacheco is leading a state tourism delegation to the United Kingdom, apparently for a tourism promotion event.