Goa’s Department of Tourism has finally responded to social media posts raising concern over ‘the health of the State’s tourism sector’. From infrastructure to transport to hotel accommodation, everything about Goa is ‘down in the dumps’, read most of the comments further stating that it was only natural for tourists to head to Sri Lanka, Vietnam, or Thailand in this scenario. The Goa government in response to the criticism clarified that comparing an Indian State to international destinations would only yield an ‘inaccurate perspective’.

Referring to Goa’s present challenges such as ‘limited scheduled air connectivity’, the tourism department said that the Centre has been looped in to work on measures to establish ‘more robust international connections’ for the State, which tourists term as ‘expensive’ when compared to several other holiday locations.

To this, the department said that top international chains had found a home in Goa, and that many more were seeking to establish a presence there.

It highlighted how Goa’s domestic tourism experienced a ‘robust resurgence’ in 2023 with more than 80 lakh tourists. About 4.5 lakh foreign tourists had also visited Goa the same year. – editor@nrifocus.com