Remember all those college plans where everyone has thought of going to Goa along with their friends at least once. Only they were never executed because no one ever received the green light from their dad, or there were budget constraints.
Sometimes, everyone agreed on the plan but as the day came closer, one by one they all backed out, and you were the only one left.
Now let’s add another reason to this list. After hearing the statements made by Goa’s tourism minister, no Indian might want to visit Goa ever again.
Manohar Ajgaonkar said that the state will welcome rich tourists and they don’t want any low-budget travelers who cook food inside of buses. “We don’t want tourists who consume drugs. We don’t want tourists who spoil Goa.
We don’t want tourists who come to Goa and cook food inside a bus. We want the richest tourists. We welcome all tourists but they should enjoy themselves while respecting Goa’s culture,” this would be the minister’s exact words.
He doesn’t want middle-class Indians who come to Goa just for the sole motive of consuming drugs and spoiling the environment for the rest. “We want the richest tourists.”
Also Read: Goa Is Not At All Like They Show You In Movies
Even Goa’s Ports Minister Micheal Lobo on Tuesday said that he is going to write to the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) and request them to not allow cruise ships that are found with drugs on it to dock in Goa.
These comments were made due to the Goa-bound cruise ship that was raided by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 2 after which Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan was arrested for the consumption of drugs in Mumbai.
Last year, the government of Goa banned tourists who were on a budget from cooking in public places, making it a punishable offense.
The decision to award five lakh free visas to international tourists made by PM Narendra Modi was also accepted by Ajgaonkar. He stated that as tourism was going to open up in Goa, 50% of fees that are applicable on shacks and hotel licenses will be disregarded. Charter flights will be available soon. Goa is expecting an influx of tourists.
Similar Statements Made In The Past
In January 2018, Goa’s State Minister for the town and country planning Vijai Sardesai said that Goa needs to re-think its tourism policy by focusing more on high-end foreign tourists while also seeking ways where they can discourage the entry of domestic tourists who come in buses, contributing nothing to the state’s economy.
“Goa should become so expensive that tourists should say that it is not worth coming to Goa. Which tourists … the Indian tourists. We must have high-end facilities and get high-end tourism, which benefits the sons of the soil,” Sardesai said.
They basically want rich visitors who spend well and not the cheap domestic ones.
“Why do we need these common tourists? It is not only about quantity, but also about the quality of tourists coming to Goa. They say that today 64 lakh tourists will come and we will take it to 1 crore. You don’t need them. Reduce the numbers and instead bring the high spenders in,” continued Sardesai.
In February 2018, Vijai Sardesai called Indian tourists “scum of the earth”, he particularly went against the “North Indians” he claimed that they wanted to “create a Haryana in Goa”.
While speaking at the Goa BizFest in Bambolim, he said that he has kept the target of one crore tourists, he also asked the government to attract foreign and upper-class Indian tourists. He surely has his reasons for saying this, as reports have proven him correct too.
Foreign visitors do contribute up to four times more than domestic tourists even though they account for just 11% of the total tourist arrival in Goa.
On average foreigners spent Rs. 87,000 compared to Rs. 31,500 domestic visitors. All goes in the hospitality and dining segments.
Indians obviously didn’t like it.
If things keep going like this soon Indians will have to look for a new vacation destination.
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: India Times, Hindustan Times, Live Mint, +More
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This post is tagged under: Bizarre, statements, Goa, India, tourism, Manohar Ajgaonkar, tourism minister, low-budget, rich tourists, drugs, middle-class, environment, Ports Minister, Micheal Lobo, Mormugao Port Trust, cruise ship, Aryan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Mumbai, Government, punishable offense, free visas, Charter flights, hotel licenses, influx of tourists, Vijai Sardesai, State Minister, foreign tourists, state’s economy, cheap, Foreign visitors, upper-class Indian, scum of the earth, new, vacation destination, hospitality, dining segments
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