As Goa’s image takes a hit, tourism minister’s tirade against ‘paid influencers’: Seek ‘free lunch and stay’

“It’s a direct charge I am making. These influencers are paid influencers onboarded by people to malign Goa. As far as data is concerned, we have surpassed the figures for domestic tourist (arrivals as compared to last year). The season has been good, exceptional… and we expect 2025 will also be good for tourism,” he said.

“The hotel occupancy… for five- and four-star hotels has been close to 100 per cent, and in the lower category of hotels, it is 60-65 per cent. This speaks about the number of tourists who were in Goa. People come to Goa for what it is. More importantly, Goa’s beauty and creativity and other things… cannot be compared with Thailand. We don’t want to experience a Thailand in Goa.”

Vowing “action against anyone who defames the state”, Khaunte said, “We have already started working on a plan with our PR team and once the complete figures (of tourist footfall) come, we will share and come up with an overall implementation plan… and expose these particular influencers, who have tried to malign the image of Goa.”

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said some restaurateurs told him that influencers from other states often demand a “free lunch” or a “free stay” at a property to propagate a certain perception on social media. (Express Photo)

Admitting that there were some “issues” related to taxis, hotel fares or connectivity that the state government has been working to resolve, the minister said, “Every tourist destination has its set of challenges, not just in India, but across the world. We are here to hear and resolve tourists’ grievances. I am not justifying the issues, but at the same time, we need to ensure that a wrong message is not created by someone. Let us amplify the right issues. Let us not disturb Goa with smaller issues when it is a tourism destination.”

Khaunte said some restaurateurs told him that influencers from other states often demand a “free lunch” or a “free stay” at a property to propagate a certain perception on social media. He also urged influencers from Goa to amplify the “real picture”.

He said that river cruise operators, which run for one hour in the evening, will be directed to play only Goan music and serve Goan snacks. “For private parties on the cruise, they can play any music,” he said.

In November, Goa’s tourism infrastructure was in the spotlight after a viral social media post claiming that “foreign tourists have abandoned the state” triggered a barrage of reactions, with many sharing their negative experiences of visiting the state and others claiming that people were now heading to destinations such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam instead. Amid this online discourse, the Goa government issued a “rebuttal”, saying that comparing a state to a country like Sri Lanka may yield an “inaccurate perspective”.