No decline in tourist arrivals in state: Khaunte

Porvorim: Treasury as well as opposition MLAs confronted tourism minister Rohan Khaunte on Thursday over international tourist arrival data. He said that post-Covid, Goa recovered 50% in tourist arrivals, performing better than Kerala. He said “paid influence” was responsible for creating a fake narrative that there is a decrease in tourists in Goa. However, data shows that there is no “decline in tourism” in Goa.

Khaunte said that there is a need to introduce a single-window system to curb illegalities in the tourism sector and bring changes in taxi services and water sports. He asked coastal MLAs to support the changes.

Agreeing to the demands of coastal belt MLAs, Khaunte said that after the assembly session, he will hold a meeting with the chief minister and, if required, he will take a delegation consisting of coastal MLAs to meet Union govt to urge them to start visa on arrival at both the airports in Goa. The minister said that MLAs should make responsible statements when it comes to tourism as there are challenges, and govt is trying to overcome them.

Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said that as per the tourism department statistics, post-Covid since 2020, Goa has received over 1 lakh tourists from the UK, including 15,000 from Portugal. “This data is totally wrong as Covid started in 2020. Goans who have taken Portuguese and UK citizenships have returned to Goa. We have asked for tourist arrival data and not Goans who return to Goa,” he said.

Khaunte said that only 60% on flights are considered tourists and not all. Lobo said that only 10 foreign tourists arrived in Goa via flight. Lobo said that Goa is not being treated as a favoured tourist destination among European tourists and there is a need to bring change.

Khaunte said over the last 6 months, both airports have seen full flights, and hotel occupancy has remained between 70% to 100% throughout the year.

Khaunte said the e-visa programme has been initiated with 170 countries and visa-on-arrival is currently available at select metro airports. Khaunte said that the govt has requested the Centre to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to Goa as well.

Leader of opposition Yuri Alemao asked Khaunte how many tourists had arrived in Goa from the countries where Goa participated in the tourism mart. Khaunte said international tourist arrivals from countries like Kazakhstan, Poland, Uzbekistan, and others have increased following roadshows and global promotion of Goa’s tourism.

Lobo urged govt to bring strong laws to act against touts and illegal guides to improve the image of Goa as they cheat tourists.