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00:00And the last quarter of this particular year, so many influencers take Goa in a different
00:28form and create a very negative impression about Goa and a perception, negative perception
00:34about Goa.
00:35The last quarter, although it was very welcoming for us in terms of numbers, we did not want
00:39to revert back because we were very comfortable in the zone as far as tourism, as far as Goa
00:44is concerned.
00:45Today, we have taken this part of a tourism conclave where there are suggestions, there
00:51are inputs come from tourists, from social media influencers, which we needed to talk
00:55back to the industry and ensure that how we can work together collaboratively, improvise
01:00on the areas which have been as concerns and find solutions to it, maybe by adopting technology
01:06or other measures.
01:07So as we look at ease of doing business, as we look at being very friendly and facilitating
01:12a lot of things and promoting Goa in the right manner as far as the tourism destination is
01:15concerned, not only calling out for investment but also touching upon the emerging markets,
01:20it is very important that the figures have been very welcoming.
01:24Today, when we took up the conclave, first we have addressed the figures where there
01:27has been a rise in terms of domestic and international numbers.
01:30Today, we are talking about overall last quarter growth and we definitely would like to highlight
01:35that the last week of December where the whole world talked about, influencers talked about
01:40Goa, no tourists being there, we did about 200 flights per day, which has been a record
01:44for Goa in the last couple of years if you do the comparison.
01:48So we have done good and we have declared figures on a very conservative side.
01:53In fact, with Poland, Uzbek and Kazakhstan numbers, I think the average rise, if I take
01:58the numbers right, would be close to about 10% on international numbers.
02:02We have been better than the national average and we are recovering post-COVID as Asia recovers
02:08and you can check this with the UNWTO reports.
02:11The tourism conclave today, we have had meetings with the tourism cruise operators, we have
02:16had meetings with the shack operators, taxi operators, water sports operators, medium
02:21small and medium operators, hotel associations, hotel associations, FHRAI, the police, the
02:29other people, sections of the stakeholders, which have had a day-long six sessions, understanding
02:35their concerns and also trying to address and also encourage them with a lot of solutions
02:40and also maybe take their suggestions to see how we can work together.
02:44These whole inputs which have been received will be put across with the Goa Tourism Board,
02:52which is chaired by the Honorable Chief Minister.
02:54Goa Tourism Board is one of its kind in the country, I can say, which has the equal participation
02:58of industry and the government working together under the Honorable Chief Minister.
03:03So I think these, under Goa Tourism Board, issues being taken up, we will work further
03:08that the related ministers along with the secretaries and directors are working on a
03:12timeline on issues and concerns that have been highlighted for the industry to move
03:17ahead very progressively.
03:19So as we talk about Goa beyond beaches, as we talk about quality over quantity as a vision
03:24statement, there's a lot of work that we have already started doing in terms of regenerative
03:28tourism, talking about sustainable tourism and working towards it.
03:32And I think in days to come, Goa will always remain as a premier destination.
03:38And I think the numbers today will plug out all the miscommunications and the maligning
03:45of Goa that was tried by influencers in the last couple of months.
03:50As we plug that out, and I wouldn't want to comment further on that, we are progressively
03:54working towards a good year, 2025, getting some good numbers from newer markets internationally
04:01and definitely more numbers also and good tourists coming from domestic markets.
04:05Domestic and foreign markets, how many or how are the percentages that have increased?
04:10I think roughly about, if I go back to my papers, domestic has increased by about 21%
04:15year to year 2023-24.
04:18And international we have been very conservative.
04:21Normally I would take the trend to be around 10%, but we have declared an increase of only
04:24about 3% with the markets that we have touched upon and international footfalls has been there.
04:30How seriously are you looking for this shack to open because of some 2-3 incidents also
04:35happening last year?
04:36No, we have already started acting upon that.
04:38Chief Minister also has been quite serious about action on these particular things.
04:41We are very clear that shacks cannot be sublet.
04:44And the shacks are sublet, whichever complaints we have received, we have already cancelled
04:48the licences of those shacks.
04:50Issues which came into law and order situations also we have cancelled.
04:53Action has been taken upon and we have also today to the shack operators also we have
04:56urged them that as ambassadors ensure that you all work collectively.