Goa tourism body vows to counter ‘foreign media marketing campaigns’
Goa’s tourism sector has been at the receiving end of negative publicity on social media with certain influencers claiming that the state was almost empty across the month of December, considered to be peak season
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that the government will promote “global campaigns to counter misinformation and targeted foreign media marketing campaigns” while promising to fix deficiencies holding the state’s tourism sector back.

After chairing a meeting of the Goa Tourism Board on Tuesday, Sawant said that the state is “committed to receiving feedback and adopting forward-looking policies to strengthen and expand the scope of tourism”.
The meeting was also attended by the state’s tourism minister Rohan Khaunte and stakeholders from the tourism sector.
It comes after Goa’s tourism sector has been at the receiving end of negative publicity on social media with certain influencers claiming that the state was “almost empty” across the month of December, considered to be “peak season” in the party destination.
On Monday, the Goa Tourism department released “provisional” figures that indicated that the state received a total of 1.04 crore tourists — more than six times the state’s population — of which 99lakh were domestic tourists while 4.68 lakh were foreigners. Domestic tourists have grown by 22% and foreign tourists have grown by 3%, the department said.
After Tuesday’s meeting, the chief minister, in a statement released, said, “The meeting focused on deliberating and deciding on important matters to bolster Goa’s tourism sector. The Board proposed regulated taxi fares at airports, railway stations, and cruise terminals, along with user-friendly service and offering uniform pricing. Stricter regulations for rent-a-car services were also recommended.”
“The meeting discussed the importance of maintaining cleanliness at beaches and tourist spots, enhancing beach safety protocols, and addressing illegal constructions at key tourist locations,” he added.
Tourism in Goa has contributed around 16.5% to the state GDP while contributing 35% to the employment opportunities in the state.
“Goa Tourist footfalls in 2024 have demonstrated a robust 21% growth (compared with calendar year 2023) which indicates a very positive and promising trend. The growth figure is corroborated by various online travel platforms like Booking.com, AirBnB and Makemytrip. They have unequivocally mentioned that Goa is the most preferred tourism destination in India,” Goa tourism director Suneel Anchipaka said.
According to the data, Goa also witnessed a 53% growth between December 2023 and December 2024 and a quarterly growth (October to December quarter) as compared to the previous year as higher by 38%.
The Goa International Airport (Dabolim) has offered figures to suggest that it has received more passengers between December 20-31 last year than it did in 2023 despite losing several scheduled flights to Mopa between 2023 and 24.
“I’m happy to say that Goa is performing better than the national average. Goa has got great resilience and adaptability in a competitive tourism landscape and as a year-round destination we are also looking at increasing off season business,” tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said.
“We need to also accept that there has also been a little over tourism and infrastructure strain, we know there is overcrowding in north Goa’s beaches, which is leading to friction between locals and tourists, we know that there are issues of waste management, public transport and the cleanliness of the beaches. There are concerns like increasing presence of budget travellers, which create a lot of challenges such a disregard for local rules and culture,” Khaunte said.
“We are looking at making stronger efforts to educate visitors about respecting our own local culture, traditions and boundaries,” Khaunte added.
