Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has rubbished the claims of some social media influencers that the arrival of tourists in the state have suffered a decline. Criticising the influencers for sending a wrong message about the state, CM Sawant said that all hotels and beaches in the state were full and told the influencers to visit these places.
Earlier, a few of social media users posted photos and videos of deserted beaches, eateries, and roads, claiming that tourists are not going to Goa and are going to other places during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Denying the claims, CM Sawant said, "I welcome the people from the entire country to Goa. The month of December is a very important month for Goa. As always, different festivals, from international festivals to Christmas and 31st December are celebrated with great fanfare. The months of November, December and January in Goa are going to be filled with tourists. All the hotels here are full...Some influencers keep saying on social media that tourists are not coming to Goa and are going to other places. They are doing the wrong thing, they are giving a wrong message about Goa to the people, I also want to tell them that they should come and see the coastal sites themselves, today is 31st December, and every road in Goa is full of vehicles, every beach is full, so many international tourists have come here, there is so much crowd on the road and all the people coming are being welcomed warmly."
A report from OHeraldo, as quoted by India Today, states that the number of domestic tourists visiting Goa grew from around 5.2 million in 2015 to more than 8.5 million in 2023. In 2019, Goa welcomed nearly 9.4 lakh foreign tourists, however, by 2023, the numbers dropped to just 4.03 lakh by November.
On January 2, CM Sawant flagged off 8th edition of Aqua Goa Mega Fish Festival 2025. The iconic festival will take place from Jan 10-12 at SAG Open Field Ground, Campal, Panaji.
In other news, CM Sawant chaired a pre-Budget meeting at the Mantralaya on Thursday. After the meeting, the CM said, "The state has managed to achieve revenue surplus budget of Rs 1423 crore for the ongoing financial year. Nearly 100 assurances are set to be achieved by March 2025, and the overall debt ratio has been reduced from 30 per cent to 29 per cent."