PANJIM: Criticised over the sagging tourism industry, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Monday sought suggestions from general public and stakeholders to review the situation.
Speaking to media persons, Ajgaonkar admitted that the ongoing tourism season has witnessed almost ten percent drop in the international tourist arrivals and mentioned that State is witnessing rise in domestic tourists.
Minister said the State target is to attract high-end international tourists, which will boost the economy.
“International tourist arrivals went down by almost ten per cent during the tourism season. We are not getting good number of international tourists compared to the local tourists that are visiting the State,” he said.
Ajgaonkar said various factors such as slowdown in the economies of the different nations from where foreign arrivals were happening dented the international tourism inflow for the current season in the coastal State.
“But the things will surely improve by the next season which will kick off after the monsoon. We have been involved into extensive marketing and showcasing of Goa across different destinations through travel marts, exhibitions and other events,” he said adding that “Our target is now high-end tourists.”
The number of chartered flights has declined for the current tourist season. Russia, which contributes for the number of arrivals, has wound up its chartered flights in January itself.
Minister said the attempts were made to encourage the number of foreign arrivals during the ongoing season by permitting events such as Sunburn Electronic Dance music festival.
“Everyone is criticising but no one is ready to come out with suggestions. I would like to urge the public as well as the stakeholders to give suggestions on how to review the industry. We all need to contribute. I will surely implement all those suggestions which are worth,” Ajgaonkar said.
State’s tourism industry has been blaming poor infrastructure and unclean beaches as one of the reason for decrease in international tourist arrivals.
The minister said government has taken all the measures to ensure safety of tourists. “We have engaged agency for cleaning the beaches. We are imposing fines on those found cooking into the open, causing nuisance, dumping bottles in open spaces, beaches, etc. We are doing everything possible,” he added.
