Minister counts on monsoon tourism to attract visitors

PANAJI

Amid concerns over disruptions in domestic travel following the Pahalgam attack, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Tuesday urged the airline and hospitality industries to roll out special monsoon packages to attract middle-and upper-middle-class travellers to Goa.

Speaking at a press conference after chairing stakeholders meeting at Paryatan Bhavan, Khaunte admitted that the recent violence in Pahalgam had cast a shadow over the tourism sector nationwide, with Goa also seeing a drop in inbound traffic. He called on stakeholders to pivot quickly and aggressively promote Goa as a competitive monsoon destination.

“We spoke to the hotel and airline industries about curating packages and introducing other corrective measures. The goal is not just to revive Goa’s footfalls but to ensure we don’t lose ground to international competitors like Vietnam, Sri Lanka or Indonesia. The UAE and Middle East are major markets we must cater to with full travel packages,” he said, also indicating a boost for domestic travellers.

Highlighting monsoon tourism as a central focus, Khaunte insisted on the need for coordinated marketing campaigns and experience-based tourism to boost occupancy and engagement during the June-to-October period.

“Selling of room inventories, hotel stays and curated experiences must be aligned and visible on online travel platforms. This is the time to tap our middle and upper-middle class people,” he added.

Khaunte further said that hotel chains and online travel intermediaries assured him they would explore ways to extend average tourist stays and improve package offerings.

The minister reiterated that Goa performed strongly in the first quarter of 2025 and 2024. April was slightly lower, as expected, but the Pahalgam attack at the end of the month made a lot of people reconsider both domestic and international travel plans.