Goa Minister Wants To Start Tourism Again, Only Wants 'Wealthy Tourists' Who 'Appreciate Goa'

Goa has always been a destination on almost every person¡¯s ¡®go-to¡¯ list, at least in India. As the country slowly comes of the coronavirus lockdown, the state that was declared a green zone, might have different approach to tourism for some time.

Tourism Minister, Manohar Ajgaonkar, said that Goa will have to re-invent its tourism profile and go back to the pristine 1960s.

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While speaking to reporters outside Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's official residence in Panaji, Ajgaonkar also mentioned that the state would focus on wealthy tourists and stay away from budget travelers or local-spending tourists in the near future.

"We have to recreate the Goa of the 1960s to kickstart our tourism again. In 1960s, Goa was beautiful and now in 2020 it is very different with more than 8 million visiting tourists," the Tourism minister was quoted as saying by Livemint.

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He further said, "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."

COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the tourism industry across the world out of gear, Goa has been no different.

"We have to start off from zero. We are right actually in a minus-zero stage now," Ajgaonkar reportedly said.

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The tourism industry will only revive once a vaccine or a cure is developed to counter COVID-19, the minister believes.

"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," he said.

Well, turns out even when the lockdown is lifted, not everyone will be able to afford that Goa trip.