In a clear shift away from blanket subsidies, the Goa government has notified a new incentive scheme that ties financial support for inbound tour operators strictly to measurable results.
The Department of Tourism announced the “Inbound Tour Operators Incentive Scheme, 2026,” also to seek the revival of international tourist arrivals that have lagged behind domestic travel since the pandemic.
Incentives under this scheme will be granted solely based on actual operational performance, measured by international passenger arrivals and aircraft load factors.
The notification issued by Director of Tourism Kedar Naik acknowledged that while Goa’s domestic tourism has rebounded strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic, international traffic has recovered at a slower pace. The notification notes that a “key challenge remains the limited scale of international charter flight operations, particularly from underserved and emerging source markets.”
“The scheme offers targeted financial incentives to inbound tour operators based solely on actual operational performance,” the notification said, adding the objective is to encourage “sustainable and market-driven expansion of charter services.”
The scheme will apply only to international charter flights arriving at Goa International Airport, Dabolim (GOI), and Manohar International Airport, Mopa (GOX) covering operations from existing charter markets, new international markets not previously operated at either airport, and charter flights operated during the monsoon period from June to September.
However, the incentives come with strict conditions. For existing markets and monsoon operations, assistance will be provided only for flights operated above defined base-year levels. Across all categories, operators must meet prescribed minimum passenger load factors, and at least 70 per cent of disembarked passengers must have a minimum stay of seven days.
For assessment purposes, the base year has been defined as the twelve months from January 1 to December 31 preceding the incentive cycle. Markets introduced in one assessment year will be treated as existing markets in subsequent years.
The government has also ruled out upfront financial support. “No financial support shall be extended in the form of upfront grants, viability gap funding, or fixed subsidies,” the notification said, stressing that incentives will be disbursed only after verification of post-operational performance data.
The maximum annual incentive payout per operator has been fixed at Rs 35 lakh, while the total annual budget for the scheme stands at Rs 2 crore for the 2026–27 financial year.
The scheme has a horizon of three years, with the possibility of annual renewal at the discretion of the Tourism Department.
