Despite Arpora fire, flight cuts, Dec saw overall rise in tourists: Khaunte

NT Reporter

Panaji

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said that December 2025 was balanced in terms of tourist arrivals, with South Goa witnessing good footfall, while North Goa saw fluctuations. Khaunte said the variations were linked to specific factors.

“The spirals have been because of the Birch nightclub fire incident and secondly the 30 per cent flight cuts by Indigo which affected the number of tourists coming down,” he said, adding that the department is still in the process of compiling data on tourist arrivals.

“If you look at 2025, the number of tourists has risen. If you look at the transport data, the number of vehicles entering Goa has also increased. But we have to start looking at the type of tourists that are coming in and relook at the model. Finally, tourism is an industry – taxi issue, garbage issue, stray cattle and dogs issue, potholes issue, touts, etc though pertain to different departments, it comes as a collective responsibility to ensure better experience for tourists,” he said.

“I have spoken to the chief minister. We will have to resolve these issues at the earliest. Tourism is an industry on which Goa’s economy survives. Until the time all stakeholders make an effort, we will have ups and downs. In the coming days, we will have a meeting with all the stakeholders,” Khaunte said.