Got Money? Your Goa Plan May Not Get Cancelled After All!

Even as the world fights the pandemic and all our travel plans stay cancelled, ironically, a Goa plan might work out for you after all. The catch? You need to be a "wealthy tourist".

According to recent media reports, the coronavirus-free state, which has been declared a green zone after reporting no confirmed cases for over a month, may open up for tourists who like to splurge on their holidays.

The media reported Goa's tourism minister, Manohar Ajgaonkar as saying, "What we are trying to do along with experts, is to take Goa back to the 1960s. We do not want tourists who consume drugs, cook on our roads or who create nuisance on beaches. We want good tourists who are wealthy and who can appreciate Goa and its culture.”

In an attempt to revive Goa's tourism-based economy, the minister wants to open it for tourists but also said that that the state w0uld only focus on wealthy tourists and stay way from budget and local-spending tourists in the future.

"Goa will have to re-invent its tourism profile and go back to the pristine 1960s, to get the industry back on its feet", he added.

With the tourist footfall jumping from two million a year to nearly eight million in the 2019-20 tourism season, the popular beach destination could not keep up with the multifold increase on arrivals and added stress on the existing infrastructure.

However, with the pandemic sending the tourism industry for a toss worldwide, Goa too had to face the shock of never-seen-before travel restrictions.

"Until state-to-state level travel can happen we cannot do anything,” the minister said. “I feel only when a vaccine is invented or a cure is developed, that tourism movement will begin to happen in Goa,” he added while addressing the media outside Goa's Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's official residence on Thursday.

Think we missed out on something? Tell us about it in the comments below. Or write about it here on Tripoto and earn Tripoto Credits!