State fared better with 2.2% share of foreign visitors, says central govt report
Shoma Patnaik
Panaji : Goa, which gets domestic tourists over six times its population annually and is seen to be overflowing with vacationers during public holidays and weekends, received only 0.3 per cent of the country’s total domestic travellers in 2024. In foreign tourist segment, the state fared better with a 2.2 per cent share, according to the Tourism Data Compendium 2025, released by the Ministry of Tourism.
In both domestic and foreign travel segments, the state ranked below the closest competitor Kerala, which had a share of 0.7 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively.
The report reveals that domestic tourist footfalls are driving the local tourism industry.
Overall the state did not make much of progress in increasing its share in domestic tourism as competing destinations gave a tough fight, indicates the report.
It says among the ticketed heritage sites, Fort Aguada in Bardez got the maximum number of domestic visitors.
The protected monument of the Archeological Survey of India, which is a 17th-century Portuguese-era fort along with a lighthouse and a jail, is widely known to be a favourite spot of social media content creators.
Fort Aguada received 1.4 million visitors in 2024, of which 1.3 million were domestic and 13,025 foreign tourists.
Travel & Tourism Association of Goa president Jack Sukhija on Monday said that comparing Goa to other destinations such as Kerala and Rajasthan is unfair looking at its small size.
“The state government must improve its offerings and design for tourists. Goa has great accommodation and top restaurants. Domestic tourists love the state. However, they are stressed out by the expensive local transport and the lack of seamless travel,” he said.
According to Sukhija, the state must aim for more tourists in future.
“Domestic travellers are presently the mainstay of the local industry. Increasing the market share is feasible looking at Goa’s USP of being a holiday hotspot and an exciting leisure destination. Indian Gen Z and young visitors are powering the domestic tourism footfalls,” said the TTAG president.
The ministry report says that Goa received 10.36 million tourists in 2024, of which 9.9 million were domestic travellers and 4.67 lakh foreign tourists.
The report discloses that post-pandemic there is a recovery in the Indian tourism industry in international and domestic tourist arrivals, although foreign travel arrivals (FTAs) are to yet reach the pre-pandemic level.
India received total 2,068.8 million tourists in 2024, of which 9.95 million were FTAs, 10.6 million NRI arrivals and 2,948.2 million domestic tourists.
