Goa no longer among top 20 tourist locales (Herald)

Goa no longer among top 20 tourist locales August 27, 2013 Union Ministry data shows slump in foreign, domestic arrivals TEAM HERALD PANJIM: Much as Goa is touted as the number one tourist destination, the state has fallen from grace among both domestic and foreign tourists, with the state not figuring anywhere among the top 20 states in India for growth in domestic tourist arrivals. It has also fallen from the list of top 10 destinations attracting foreign tourists. Data released by the Union Tourism Ministry shows that Goa is struggling to keep pace with India's tourism boom, with the industry here growing by merely 0 to 1 per cent overall in the last five years. The slowdown is attributed to the emergence of other attractive destinations within the country and across the globe. Union Ministry data indicates that inspite of attractive packages from the hospitality industry, domestic footfalls in Goa have grown by a dismal 0.08 per cent overall over the five years from 2007 as against the growth witnessed by most other States. The chilling reality is that even Bihar and West Bengal have notched up seventh and sixth places respectively, beating Goa in the growth of foreign tourist arrivals in the last two years. Goa is at a distant 11th. In 2012, around 4.5 lakh foreign tourists patronised Goa, up from 4.4 lakh in the previous year. During the same period, domestic tourist arrivals increased only by around one lakh, showing a five per cent growth, behind 22 other states. Herald had in its August 5 editorial that no matter how the tourism road shows are packaged, it is important to ensure that tourism is competitively priced so that tourists’ not only get their money’s worth but return to rekindle the memorable sojourn, and in the long term the industry will sustain itself. While this was not good news for Goa tourism, the State’s Tourism Ministry on Monday categorically said that it is not perturbed by the numbers game as it does not reflect reality. “Goa is a small state with a 15 lakh population and has a tourist arrival count which is double the size of the state’s population which no other state in the country can boast of,” Tourism Director Nikhil Desai said. Desai said that Goa tourism is not disputing the data released by the Union Tourism Ministry but said that Goa tourism has its limitations as well. “We can increase the numbers and we are going to see a surge from this year onwards,” he said adding that the state is focusing on improving and increasing infrastructure and carrying capacity. “We cannot compete with other bigger states but at the moment we are concentrating on quality tourists and high spending tourists even if it means we are not on the top 10 or top 20 tourism charts,” Desai claimed. He said, “Our success in tourism story will not be dictated by numbers or quantity,” adding that Goa will be happy to have less tourists but those who yield more to the state’s economy. It was added that Goa’s tourist arrival figures actually do not get reflected in the systems and steps are proposed to be taken to have a comprehensive database for this purpose. The Tourism Ministry further pointed out that compared to 2011, in 2012, Goa recorded 4.4 per cent growth, while the all India average was 5 per cent in domestic tourist arrivals. “So we are not far behind,” Desai disclosed. As far as foreign tourist arrivals are concerned, he said that Goa saw a surge in charter arrivals and will see a further growth this year onwards. 1 Goa is struggling to keep pace with India's tourism boom, with the industry here growing by merely 0 to 1 per cent overall in the last five years 2 Domestic footfalls in Goa have grown by a dismal 0.08 per cent overall over the five years from 2007 3 In growth of foreign tourist arrivals in the last two years West Bengal and Bihar have taken sixth and seventh places respectively. Goa is at a distant 11th. http://www.oheraldo.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/Goa-no-longer-among-top-20-tourist-locales/78707.html