Goa To Open Only For ‘Wealthy’ Tourists, Says Tourism Minister, Twitter Reacts

Goa, a state which is heavily dependent on tourism, is gearing up for the new normal wherein visitors will be allowed but selectively. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was quoted saying,

“After Lockdown 3, movement along inter-state routes via bus and train as well as by flights should be allowed, but with restrictions, especially because Goa, a COVID-free green zone is flanked on both sides by Karnataka and Maharashtra, with a high incidence of cases.”

According to The Times of India, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar reiterated the sentiment and The Statesman quoted him saying, “We have to recreate the Goa of the 1960s to kickstart our tourism again. In the 1960s, Goa was beautiful and now in 2020 it is very different with more than 8 million visiting tourists.”

He further added, “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.”

#Goa will have to re-invent its tourism profile and go back to the pristine 1960s, to get the industry back on its feet, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar (@BabuAjgaonkar) said on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/4DIXeFwqxs

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 7, 2020

“We have to start off from zero. We are right actually in a minus-zero stage now. Until state-to-state level travel can happen we cannot do anything. I feel only when a vaccine is invented or a cure is developed, that tourism movement will begin to happen in Goa.”

Here is how desi Twitter reacted to the news, take a look.

@BabuAjgaonkar Can you please explain what does you statement saying only wealthy tourist will be allowed to visit Goa? Being an Indian and as Goa is part of India I do not think you can stop Indian tourists from visiting Goa based on their bank balance.

— surya tej (@suryamailz) May 13, 2020

Can you ever go back in time? Rather than focus on a return to past glories, Goa should look to creating a new tourism paradigm. #futureoftravel | Goa Tourism To Reinvent With 1960s Charm And ‘Wealthy Tourists’https://t.co/X8fam99sHf

— Keith J Fernandez (@withazed) May 11, 2020

This is nothing less than utter discrimination on the basis of wealth and income. Don't behave like Britishers. Goa is anyway more costly than any other Indian state for tourists. Stranded tourists in Goa Today are being demanded in excess of 24k to be driven to Mumbai by taxi

— 🇮🇳sanjay (@the_lone_priest) May 9, 2020

So Goa will only be open for wealthy people ? Dear Pramod Sawant think this through again as over 70 percent of the tourists to Goa are budget travellers .

— Elvin Johnson (@ElvinJohnson07) May 9, 2020

@BabuAjgaonkar hello sir. Is it true that you only want to focus on wealthy travelers to Goa and not the budget traveler? When I’m in India I have spent as much as Rs 24,000 and as little as Rs 1600 on a hotel room. I think it would be a mistake to overlook travelers like myself.

— Rich (@RichDavis67) May 8, 2020

Do you think our Goa vacation plans will ever materialize? Tell us.

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