Tourism Sector In Goa Is Performing Better Than National Average: Minister
Panaji, Goa: Dispelling the controversy surrounding Goa‘s losing popularity among tourists, State tourism minister Rohan Khaunte on Monday said that tourism sector in Goa is performing better than the national average. He condemned social media influencers for running false campaigns to ruin the reputation of the State. Last December, social media posts by many influencers focusing deserted beaches, and empty hotels went viral on internet, a period of time expected to be of a huge influx tourists in the coastal state.
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After addressed day-long conclave with tourism industry stakeholders in Goa, Khaunte said, “We did not want to respond to every social media influencer who took Goa for a ride in the last quarter. . . . The issues raised . . . we will address, but the way the issue was taken up, we need to jointly condemn. Every tourist place has its challenges.”
As per data collected by the state tourism department, a total of 1.04 crore tourists visited Goa in 2024, which is higher than in 2023 when 86.28 lakh tourists visited the State. The department also stated that in 2024, 99.41 lakh domestic tourists visited Goa in comparison to 81.75 lakh tourists in 2023. Similarly, the number of foreign tourists has also increased from 4.52 lakh in 2023 to 4.67 lakh in 2024.
“Goa is performing much better than the national average. The destination has great resilience and adaptability in a competitive tourism landscape and as a year round destination; we are also looking at increasing off-season business,” Minister said.
Continuing further, Minister said that according to the UN Tourism’s (UNWTO) report, post-COVID, foreign tourists’ footfall in Asia is slowly recovering from pre-pandemic levels.
“The 3 per cent increase in foreign tourists’ footfall here (in Goa) is a recovery. Despite Asia being at minus 18 per cent in terms of recovery, our growth has been better than the national average . . . ,” he said.
The geopolitical issues are impacting the recovery. “We were trying to connect to Israel, but there was a war and the (aftermath) of the war in Russia has still not given us the numbers that we were expecting. At the same time, we are connecting to newer markets, such as Poland, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,” Minister added.
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At the same time, Khaunte says that Goa cannot be compared with the footfalls of international destinations like Sri Lanka or Thailand or Vietnam.
Minister admitted that there has been “little over-tourism and infrastructure strain” in Goa. He said that there is friction between locals and tourists due to overcrowding in Baga and Calangute beaches. “There are issues on waste management. We are working towards waste management, public transport and the cleanliness of the beaches,” he said.
Every tourism destination has their own challenges, Minister added.
