State sees over 6% growth; Tourism Minister credits new air routes and resilient tourism strategy
PANAJI
Goa continued to witness a rise in tourist footfalls, with the coastal State recording more than 7.6 million tourist arrivals, including over 3.36 lakh international visitors, in the first nine months of 2025. By the end of September, the State registered an overall 6.23 per cent growth in footfalls compared to the same period in 2024.
A total of 5.45 million tourists had arrived in the State in the first half of 2025, a number that rose to over 7.6 million by the end of September. In 2024, Goa recorded 10.41 million arrivals overall — 99,41,265 domestic and 4,67,911 foreign tourists.
Addressing a press conference, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said that Goa has focused on new markets, with destinations like Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, and Kazakhstan operating their charter and scheduled flights to the State.
Khaunte informed that from January to September this year, Goa received 72.96 lakh domestic tourists as against 69 lakh last year, recording a 5.36 per cent growth. On the international visitors’ front, 29.33 per cent more foreign tourists arrived in the State this year so far compared to 2024. This year, 3.36 lakh foreign tourists landed in the State, while during the same period in 2024, the number was 2.59 lakh.
“The overall growth is showing at 6.23 per cent compared to last year,” he said, adding that the government is optimistic the number will grow further as the year enters its last quarter.
The Minister, however, raised concerns about possible attempts at negative publicity of Goa through paid influencers.
“When it comes to the last quarter of the tourism season, influencers in India and abroad try to speak negatively and portray Goa in a poor light. They try to show that tourism is declining and not doing well, etc. They have been doing this since 2022,” he said.
Khaunte said that the influencers’ negative approach has, in fact, helped the State strengthen further, thereby increasing visitor footfalls.
The Minister said that the State is in the process of notifying the Aerospace Policy, while the Wellness Tourism Policy is in the drafting stage.
Admitting that there has been a delay in resolving issues about tourist taxis, Khaunte said that the government is firm on introducing digital platforms.
“Taxi operators are not bad; they are our ambassadors. However, a few taxi operators are creating trouble, and these few are tarnishing our image at the national and international levels,” he said.
