Goa acknowledges drop in tourist arrivals


Panaji, Feb 13 (IANS): Tourists arrival in Goa is on decline, acknowledged Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar here on Wednesday and underlined the need to work out solutions to address the issue.

"There is a drop in tourist arrivals in Goa and it needs to be looked into seriously," Ajgaonkar told reporters after chairing the meeting with the industry stakeholders in Panaji.

"The problems identified will be looked into jointly after taking into confidence all the tourism associations and stakeholders," the minister said.

Travel and tourism industry stakeholders are expected to submit a comprehensive report on issues affecting tourist arrivals, an official said.

Industry stakeholders have cried hoarse trying to draw the government's attention to dropping tourist footfall over the past few years, and blaming the Tourism Ministry for not doing enough to promote the state.

At the meeting, industry stakeholders, led by Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president Savio Messias, urged Ajgaonkar to address the issues plaguing the industry like harassment of tourists, nuisance caused by organised begging at tourist locations, unreasonable taxi charges by local operators, and the high goods and services tax (GST) rate.

Ajgaonkar assured that his ministry would review the marketing strategy to promote Goa as a tourism destination more efficiently.

Goa is one of the top beach and nightlife destinations in the country and last year attracted more than seven million tourists, out of which half a million were foreigners.

 

  

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Comment on this article

  • Suryakant Nashnolkar, Goa/ porvorim

    Fri, Feb 15 2019

    Goan culture ( I dont mean goa settlers from the Indian hinterland) was the reason people got attracted to Goa.
    Now with majority of educated Goans having escaped to the US, Canada, Australia etc and a lot of lesser educated having gone to Europe with Portuguese passports, their place have been taken up by uneducated unemployed and opportunistic Indians from other parts who havent yet experienced Achchhe Din, so they filled up every nook and cranny with low quality shops to cater to Indian tourists looking for cheap food and recycled/ rejected garments.

    So Goa has become like any other Indian small town.
    The ministers are only interested in getting these new migrants to become voters and vote for them so they can support their own unemployed families to live in luxury in other countries.

    Reply Report Abuse

  • Richard, India

    Thu, Feb 14 2019

    You have killed the goose laying golden eggs.
    Control and get rid of taxi mafia, and get decent app based taxi service, exempt GST for the stake holders, get rid of beggars and slum like eateries around beaches spreading disease. Most important , educate your police force to respect the foreigners. Goa is not the only option in the world, they have plenty of other options to choose from.

    Reply Report Abuse


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