Goa records 6.23% rise in tourist arrivals between Jan and Sept: Tourism minister
The state, which suffered during pandemic as foreign arrivals dried up, recorded growth in number of foreign visitors, receiving 3.36 lakh arrivals between January and September this year
Panaji: Goa’s tourism has witnessed a growth of 6.23% in the number of arrivals between January and September this year as against the same period last year, Goa’s tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said on Friday.
The state, which had suffered during the pandemic as foreign arrivals dried up, also recorded growth in the number of foreign visitors, receiving 3.36 lakh arrivals between January and September this year, compared to 2.59 lakh during the same period in 2024, Khaunte said while addressing the press.
The minister accused social media influencers of “targeting Goa during the last quarter of every year (when Goa’s tourism season starts) in order to influence tourists to not come to the state.” He added that this year, Goa has received tourists from Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk — cities in Russia that previously did not have direct flights to Goa — while continuing to maintain regular flights from Moscow, Almaty in Kazakhstan, and other destinations.
“For us, numbers have never been an issue. We have received 34 flights from Russia and Central Asia while also maintaining our markets in the UK, for which TUI Airways has commenced services from Manchester and Gatwick this week,” Khaunte said, adding that the state was working on regaining the lost markets of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Goa’s tourism season, which runs from October to May — the non-monsoon months — attracts around 10 million tourists every year, of whom around 0.9 million are foreigners. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, while domestic tourist arrivals have picked up, the number of foreign visitors is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, raising concern among tourism stakeholders in the state.
During the same period, Goa has seen a sharp rise in the number of registered hotels, with the figure increasing from 3,647 in 2022 to 9,166 as of September 2025, according to government data.
In 2024, the state received 9.9 million tourists over the full calendar year, including 0.4 million foreigners. Between January and September this year, the state recorded 7.2 million tourists, of whom 0.3 million were foreigners, the data shows.
“Overall, we have witnessed a growth of 6.23% in comparison to the same period last year. We are optimistic that the current season will be good for the industry that contributes 16% to the state GDP and 40% of jobs,” Khaunte said.
