Is Goa tourism showing a downward trend, as is being portrayed on social media by certain influencers? Statistics state otherwise. As per data available in the Economic Survey for 2024-25 that was tabled in the House during the Assembly session last month, there was an appreciable rise of 20 per cent in tourist arrivals in the State in 2024 from the previous year.
From a total of 80 lakh tourists in 2019, the year before Covid hit and tourism spiralled down, Goa welcomed 1.04 crore tourists in 2024. Going by these figures, Goa has not only recovered lost ground but is doing better now than it did in the pre-pandemic period, and that’s saying a lot about the industry.
The rise has been made up by domestic tourists who are travelling to Goa in large numbers in the last few years and keeping the industry from going into the red. From 71.27 lakh domestic tourists in 2019, the number in 2024 rose to 99.41 lakh, a huge rise.
As against this, the number of foreign tourists has dropped and stands at about 50 per cent of the 2019 arrivals. The number of foreign tourists in 2019 was 9.3 lakh which is now at 4.6 lakh
As per data available in the Economic Survey for 2024-25 that was tabled in the House during the Assembly session last month, there was an appreciable rise of 20 per cent in tourist arrivals in the State in 2024 from the previous year
Looking at the graph (see below), it is clear that the number of foreign and domestic tourists is increasing every year. However, the gap between them too is also widening, indicating that there is a rise in domestic tourists than those from overseas.
Again, from the graph it becomes clear that there was a spurt in 2022, the year when the world really opened up after the pandemic and people started travelling. That year showed a 115 per cent positive change in tourism arrivals for the State.
Goa can improve if it focuses on its priorities. If it is looking at numbers, then it will be the same old story. In the past, and even recently, the government has spoken about promoting quality tourism over quantity tourism.
But what we are seeing today is quantity tourism and looking at the figures one can tell that it is numbers that are driving the tourism industry in Goa.
The number of arrivals also reflects in the revenue earned. For the government, earnings from registration and renewals of various tourism activities have seen a significant increase from 2019 to 2024. The revenue rose from Rs 4.32 crore in 2019 to Rs 12.47 crore in 2024.
Revenue earned by leasing properties is also up, from Rs 70.55 lakh in 2019-20 to Rs 196.47 lakh in 2024-25 (up to December 2024), which is more than double.
For the government, earnings from registration and renewals of various tourism activities have seen a significant increase from 2019 to 2024.
Footfalls are up, revenue is up. From the figures that are available, there appears to be nothing much to worry about for tourism stakeholders in Goa.
The tourism industry is enjoying sunny weather with little chance of a damp spell. Yet, when reading the news or watching it on TV or the internet, one gets the feeling that the industry is unhappy with the season.
It is important that the stakeholders look at the bright side and right now the future is indeed looking bright for the tourism industry.
Domestic tourists are not going to stop travelling to Goa, charter flights are increasing, new markets are showing interest in the State, transportation to Goa has improved and infrastructure too has received a major facelift.
Everything is going the Goa way in tourism, what more could the industry possibly want?
Domestic tourists are not going to stop travelling to Goa, charter flights are increasing, new markets are showing interest in the State, transportation to Goa has improved and infrastructure too has received a major facelift.
There is, however, much that Goa can do in the tourism field. Of course, with the beaches and the coast still being the major attraction, their cleanliness is of utmost importance. There can be no compromise on it.
Simultaneously, Goa has to diversify its tourism inflow. It cannot concentrate on the over one crore of travellers that come in a year to the coast. Some of them have to be diverted to the hinterlands. Though Goa has attempted this, there are still too few tourism facilities available away from the coast to make this happen.
Diversification is the key to Goa’s tourism survival and here the government and the stakeholders must come to an agreement on what best it can offer tourists, without burdening the environment or the people.