Panaji: There has been a gradual decline in the volume of foreign tourists visiting Goa over the last five years. According to a recent study, the number of overseas visitors were down from around 8.5 million in 2019 to 1.5 million in 2019.
Instead of Goa, the preferred destination of thousands of foreigners is now Sri Lanka.
Why is Goa being shunned by foreign tourists?
There could be multiple reasons. But BJP MLA Michael Lobo came up with a theory that sounds a bit absurd, and hilarious as well.
Lobo’s reasoning is that the sale of idli-sambar in beach shacks is resulting in a decline in international tourist footfall in Goa.
Asserting that the government alone cannot be blamed, Lobo rued that Goans have rented their beach shacks to businessmen from other places.
“Some people from Bengaluru are serving ‘vada pav’ in the shacks, some are selling idli-sambar. That’s why international tourism has been declining in the state for the past two years,” Lobo said during a press conference at Calangute in North Goa.
The MLA did not elaborate on how the popular south Indian dish is affecting tourism in the coastal state.
“There is a hue and cry because of the drop in tourist numbers. In the coastal belt, be it North or South, there has been a sharp fall in the arrival of foreign visitors. A lot of factors are responsible for this,” Lobo said.
Every stakeholder should bear the responsibility for it, he said.
According to Lobo, some foreigners still visit Goa every year, but younger tourists from abroad are shunning the state.
“The tourism department and other stakeholders should hold a joint meeting and study the reasons why foreign tourists are not ready to come to Goa,” he said.
Lobo opined that because of the war, Russian and Ukrainian tourists have stopped coming to Goa.
“If we don’t put a system in place, we will see dark days in the tourism sector,” he cautioned.
