After Mumbai attacks, India bans parties at Israeli backpacker hotspot Goa

Authorities in India's tourist destination of Goa have banned Christmas and New Year parties on its beaches, which draw large crowds of Israeli and Western backpackers, following security threats after the Mumbai attacks.

"No party will be allowed in the open on any beach of Goa between December 23 and January 5," Kishan Kumar, the Inspector General of Police told Reuters on Saturday.

Last week, Israel's Anti-Terrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory warning Israeli nationals against making unnecessary visits to the southern Indian region this month, in light of the terror attacks last month.

Large numbers of Israelis visit Goa throughout the year, but the numbers rise around the New Year holiday. The bureau had previously issued travel advisories for other areas of India, which still stand.

Kumar, speaking by telephone from Goa, added: "Obviously there is a security threat, but we cannot say anything more specific at the moment,"

At least 179 people were killed in the terrorist attack on Mumbai, which India says was carried out by Islamist militants from Pakistan.

Six Israelis were among the fatalities, when the Mumbai headquarters of the Chabad movement was taken siege by the terrorists.

India has tightened security around the country, especially in coastal areas following the Mumbai attacks, in which militants used a sea route to reach India.

Thousands of tourists travel to Goa every month to visit its beaches, also famous for night-long parties.

"Tourism is a lifeline of Goa, this decision will seriously affect tourism," Vikram Varma, a lawyer in Goa, said.

"After all, Christmas is just round the corner."

Mumbai hotels prepare for partial reopening

Meanwhile, the two luxury hotels targeted in the Mumbai terror attacks prepared Saturday to reopen for the first time since the rampages left the Oberoi and Taj Mahal in tatters last month.

The Oberoi Group said it would reopen rooms in the Trident portion of itshotel Sunday, nearly a month after 10 accused Islamic militants stormed into several Mumbai landmarks on Nov. 26. The Taj Mahal Group said the tower wing of its Taj Mahal Palace and Tower will reopen Sunday evening.

The Oberoi's Trident will be outfitted with surveillance systems, baggage scanners and strict security, Trident Hotels President Rattan Keswani told reporters.

"I think all of us are concerned about a complete deterrent to any future attacks," he said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. "We need armed presence, and we are adding to it."

Militants from the banned Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba are accused of staging the attacks that kicked off a three-day siege that paralyzed much of the country's commercial capital. Nine of the alleged gunmen were killed, and one is in police custody.

The attacks bared glaring gaps in India's security and intelligence apparatus and have heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi calling on Islamabad to take stronger action against the suspected masterminds of the attack.

	Young travellers partying on a beach in 2006 in the Indian resort of Goa. (Getty Images)