After the initial threatening and blustering, Goa’s tourism ministry decided to take a more studied approach to address the issues highlighted on social media by influencers.
To this end, the ministry held a one-day tourism stakeholders' conference on Monday, where it crunched tourism numbers, collated information and put together a list of concerns dogging the State’s tourism sector.
GROWTH AMID CRITICISM
And, what came out of it was Goa’s tourism issues were more to do with its quality than quantity. As far as the inflow of tourists in the last calendar year was concerned, the coastal State fared well with a 21 per cent growth in its overall tourist number.
The number of total tourists arriving into Goa swelled to over 1.04 crore in 2024 from 86.28 lakh in 2023.
“We have comfortably sailed the year 2024 in terms of numbers,” said Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte while addressing the media after his meeting with tourism stakeholders.
“We have comfortably sailed the year 2024 in terms of numbers,” said Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte while addressing the media after his meeting with tourism stakeholders.
NOW ON, FOCUS WILL BE ON QUALITY
He emphasised his ministry was looking to tackle the quality aspect of Goa’s tourism; “quality over quantity is the clear intent statement (of the Goa government). For which every stakeholder we are talking to, we have started working around it (quality). Government is the facilitator”.
He elaborated on his comment by adding, “We need to ensure that new infrastructure comes in and we are connected to new emerging markets so that we have this statement (of intent) right”.
MINISTER'S PROMISE
The minister spoke of putting in place laws to “weed out the people (tourists)” who had no love for Goa’s ecology and culture, and were leaving behind undesirable tourist footprints.
“Everything cannot be shared today, but the plan is on as far as quality over quantity (of tourism) is concerned and you will find it happening because we have the ability of our stakeholders who have been part of the industry for decades,” he said.
Everything cannot be shared today, but the plan is on as far as quality over quantity (of tourism) is concerned and you will find it happening because we have the ability of our stakeholders who have been part of the industry for decades
Rohan Khaunte, Tourism Minister
OVERTOURISM, YES
“We have to ensure that the per capita spending of tourists in Goa increases. We need to plan and strategise for this”.
He accepted Goa was facing the problem of overtourism, which had put a strain on its infrastructure.
“We need to accept there has been a little overtourism and infrastructure strain. We know there has been overcrowding in North Goa beaches like Baga and Calangute, which is leading to a friction between locals and tourists,” said the minister.
SEIZED OF CONCERNS
He also highlighted other concerns such as waste management, public transport and cleanliness of beaches.
The minister acknowledged the presence of “budget travellers who disregard local rules and culture”.
“We have to improvise in certain areas, which we have started doing. We are looking at educating visitors about respecting our local culture and boundaries,” he added.
We have to improvise in certain areas, which we have started doing. We are looking at educating visitors about respecting our local culture and boundaries
Rohan Khaunte, Tourism Minister
STRUGGLES WITH FOREIGN ARRIVALS
To address these tourism challenges, the tourism ministry is collaborating with Goa Tourism Board (GTB), which is headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and has representatives from the tourism industry.
Additionally, the State’s CM has already taken up concerns relating to soaring airfares, connectivity with emerging and new markets, open sky policy and other such issues with the Centre.
Some of these issues directly impact the arrival of foreign tourists into the State, which showed a subdued growth of 3 per cent to 4.67 lakh in 2024 from 4.52 lakh in 2023.
To address these tourism challenges, the tourism ministry is collaborating with Goa Tourism Board (GTB), which is headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and has representatives from the tourism industry.
BETTER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE
Khaunte said Goa’s performance in attracting international tourists “was better than the national average” despite being impacted by the wars in Russia and Israel.
A United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) report, published in the middle of last year, said international tourism in Asia and the Pacific has yet to fully recover with foreign tourist arrivals having reached 82 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024.
Khaunte said Goa’s performance in attracting international tourists “was better than the national average” despite being impacted by the wars in Russia and Israel.
TIME FOR NEW MARKETS
Goa was now trying to tap new markets. “We are connecting to Poland, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. This year (2025), we look at connecting to many more countries,” said the minister.
Furnishing data on the State’s tourist numbers, Suneel Anchipaka, Director of Department of Tourism, revealed the total domestic tourists who visited Goa in 2024 climbed 21 per cent to 99.41 lakh compared to 81.75 lakh in 2023.
The State’s tourist arrivals in December last year jumped by a staggering 54 per cent compared to the same month in 2023.
