Panaji: Goa recorded a robust 21% jump in tourist arrivals in 2024, largely driven by domestic tourists who flocked to the state in the Oct-Dec quarter. The state, whose population is estimated at 15.7 lakh, saw over 1 crore tourists enter the state in the last 12 months. In 2023, the total tourist arrivals were pegged at 86.3 lakh.
According to provisional data released by the tourism department on Monday, Goa received 99.4 lakh domestic tourists and 4.6 lakh foreign tourists in 2024, as against 81.8 lakh domestic tourists and 4.5 lakh foreign tourists in 2023. Goa’s tourism department released the numbers to dispel the recent social media trends that claimed the tourism sector, which contributes 16.4% to the state’s economy, was in the doldrums.
“Few social media influencers mentioned empty roads, whereas our figures show that there was a 54% growth if we compare Dec 2024 with 2023 figures. The Oct-Dec quarter saw a growth of 38%. Domestic tourists increased by 22% in 2024, while foreign tourists saw a 3% increase,” said tourism director Suneel Anchipaka.
He said that the “positive and promising trends” for the state were corroborated by Booking.com, MakeMyTrip, and Airbnb, as well as airlines. Anchipaka stated that the online travel aggregators said that Goa remains the most preferred and sought-after domestic tourist destination.
“We knew from the stakeholders that business is very comfortable. The social media attack would make no difference to the tourist footfalls and tourism in Goa. We have comfortably sailed through 2024, in terms of the numbers,” said tourism minister
Rohan Khaunte
.
To arrive at the provisional numbers, the tourism department claims it spoke to online travel aggregators, airlines, airports, hotels, shack operators, taxi operators, and international charter operators. The department also sat with key industry representatives to understand the challenges faced by the sector, which can be addressed in the next 12 months.
“We know that there are concerns and issues as with any tourism destination. We wouldn’t discount the issues raised by certain social media influencers,” said Khaunte. These concerns pertain to waste management, public transport, and illegal activities on the beaches.
At the same time, Khaunte said that overtourism and overcrowding are leading to friction between locals and tourists. He said that the increasing presence of budget travellers creates challenges such as disregard for local rules and culture. “We are looking at making stronger efforts to educate visitors about respecting our local culture, traditions, and boundaries.”
The minister said that he expects the chief secretary and the other IAS officers to come up with an action plan to address the challenges raised by the industry stakeholders. “We cannot put a plug on the number of people who would want to come to Goa. We can definitely look at how to encourage better tourists to come to Goa and weed out the rest,” said the minister.
Anchipaka and Khaunte said that the data about tourism arrivals were conservative estimates which were likely to be revised higher in the coming days.
“There are some challenges which pertain to inter-departmental issues. We will collect this feedback from various stakeholders and subsequently put all these before the chief minister’s notice to resolve them in a time-bound manner,” said Anchipaka.
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