Goa: 'Tourist arrivals may be 40 per cent more than govt data'

PANAJI: It is well known that Goa has a high inventory of unregistered rooms, which makes it difficult to know the exact number of tourist arrivals in the state. Tourism department appointed consultant KPMG has estimated that the total footfalls could be 30-40% more than the numbers available with the tourism department.

For 2018-19, KPMG estimated that 1.3 to 1.5 crore tourists visited Goa, while the tourism department’s data shows total arrivals, including international tourists, at 90 lakh.

Confirming the estimates by KPMG, tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said, “The figure of total arrivals is not available as large number of hotels, guest houses or other accommodations are not registered with the tourism department. There are many single and double room apartments that are rented out to tourists, but not registered.”

He said the government will not be lenient towards such operators in future. “We will crackdown on illegal operators as the government is losing revenue. The consultant’s data shows that 50 to 60 lakh more tourists came to Goa than what we know,” the minister said.

A tourism official said the state registered an annual increase of 2-3% until December 2019, but it has not reflected correctly in the figures of total arrivals available with them.

“There are illegal rooms in operation, but also not all registered hotels/guest houses provide information. Some (registered operators) also delay sending data,” he said.

The amendment to the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act has made it mandatory for online aggregators and hotels to register their business with the tourism department. But it is yet to come into force as the rules are being vetted by the law department.

A tourism stakeholder said many foreigners who visit Goa for a long stay choose to rent apartments or single-story houses in the coastal belt across the state.

This is quite evident up north in Mandrem, Ashvem, Morjim and Arambol, as also in Calangute and Candolim. In the south, Canacona is the most favoured spot by such travellers.

These foreigners regularly shop at Mapusa market on Fridays and buy fish at Siolim and at other places in North Goa.

Trade body, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), wants that action be taken against such operators, but with enough warning.

TTAG president Nilesh Shah said, “Their operations (not registered) have benefited the local economy, but the government has lost out on revenue in a big way. Even after they are given adequate time to register, if they continue to function illegally, they will have to be penalised. The action can start from September-October when we will see some tourism activity happening.”