Hon’ble Minister for Tourism Shri Rohan A. Khaunte Reaffirms Support for Traditional Goan Shack Operators Ahead of Tourist Season
Panaji, September 01, 2026: Hon’ble Minister for Tourism Shri Rohan A. Khaunte has reiterated his commitment to ensuring that Goa’s traditional beach shacks remain in the hands of local Goans, while extending continued support to shack operators ahead of the upcoming tourist season.
Shack owners remain an important part of Goa’s tourism ecosystem, offering visitors an experience closely associated with the state’s beaches and local culture. The Tourism Department has been working to ensure that the shacks are given all the requisite permissions ahead of the tourist season, allowing visitors to enjoy the beach experience without delays.
Hon’ble Minister for Tourism Shri Rohan A. Khaunte said that shack owners are major stakeholders and ambassadors of tourism, and emphasised that shacks are traditionally associated with Goans and should remain with traditional Goan operators. He also assured shack owners of continued support as they prepare for the upcoming season.
“We have actually created history, and I always said that we will ensure that shacks are there for the tourists. Every year, tourists used to wait for the shacks, but since the last two-three years, shacks are ready before the tourist season. We have supported them wholeheartedly,” the Minister said.
He added that this year, one of their own locals has gone to court and filed a case on technicalities. We have introduced a bill in the assembly which will come up for discussion tomorrow. As government, we are ensuring whatever support we can to the shack operators.
Director of Tourism Shri Kedar Naik said, “the Tourism Department remains committed to supporting shack operators and facilitating the process of issuing the requisite permissions at the earliest. He said the Department recognises the important role played by traditional Goan shacks in offering visitors an authentic beach experience and will continue to work towards ensuring that the season gets underway smoothly.”
Cruz Cardozo, President, Shack Owners Welfare Society, said that the association had met the Tourism Minister requesting that the licences be issued at the earliest so that the shacks could begin operations by the first week of September, as was the case last year.
“The Tourism Minister said he will give the licences as soon as possible and we have full trust in him. The Tourism Minister, Tourism Director and government have always been supportive. We have a lot of tourists during the off-season, and we have good quality tourists as well,” Cardozo said.
