Goa has seen a 39% rise in domestic tourist arrivals from 2019 (pre-COVID) to 2024, tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said on Thursday, criticizing “paid social media influencers” for “trying to create a wrong impression” of the state.
Tourism Data Presented in Assembly
Addressing the Goa legislative assembly, Khaunte stated the department has augmented its system of data collection, which indicates Goa had 71.27 lakh domestic and 9.37 lakh international tourists in 2019, and the flow increased to 99.41 lakh domestic and 4.67 lakh international tourists in 2024. “This indicates a 39% increase in domestic tourism over pre-COVID numbers and a 50% revival in international tourism. These figures clearly indicate that tourism is flourishing,” he said.
This year, Khaunte stated that during the period from January to June, 57.12 lakh domestic tourists and 3.25 lakh international tourists have arrived in Goa.
Airport-Wise Breakdown of Tourist Movements
The figures reveal that from January to June, Goa had 57,12,758 tourist movements, of which 34,64,490 were domestic movements via Goa Dabolim International Airport in Vasco and 22,48,268 via Manohar International Airport at Mopa. International movements comprised 3,25,835, of which 1,15,645 came in via Goa Dabolim International Airport and 2,10,190 via Manohar International Airport.
“Many of these so-called influencers are sitting outside the state, getting paid to create noise that doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground,” Khaunte said. “When we presented the official data, none of them had a response.”
Flight and Hotel Occupancy Trends
“Flights and hotels are almost full. We [Goans] can see the growth happening. In the past six months, both the airports have seen consistently high footfalls, and hotel occupancy has remained between 70 to 100% all year-round,” he said.
Earlier, BJP MLA Michael Lobo had stated that the state government was providing ‘incorrect’ numbers, including tourist, local and emigrant figures who were going in and out of the state.
Use of TIME Software for Accurate Tracking
Tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy data are collected through the Tourism Information Management Enterprise (TIME) software, an online centralised platform designed to make the process of gathering and analysing data in the state’s tourism accommodation sector easier. All registered homestays, guesthouses, and hotels are required to utilise TIME to record guest arrivals and report occupancy rates in real time. The effort assists the department in tracking tourism patterns, enhancing planning, and supporting data-based policy decisions.
Khaunte added that an e-visa programme was launched with 170 nations and visa-on-arrival is now granted at a few metro airports. He has asked the Centre to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to Goa too and proposed involving coastal MLAs to advance the demand.
“Goa is now linked to several parts of the world,” Khaunte said, adding that efforts like roadshows and marketing campaigns have opened up previously untapped international tourist segments.
