Drop in Goa's tourism prospects due to Coronavirus scare, says Tourism Official

The worldwide panic surrounding the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the tourism prospects of Goa, state Tourism Director Menino D'Souza said on Friday. However, he said that currently, he is unable to prove in figures, the impact of the epidemic on tourism footfalls in the state.

"That (footfalls impacted), I cannot say offhand, but it has affected, there is no doubt about it," D'Souza told reporters on the sidelines of a tourism event in the state capital.

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The official also said that the Goa government was planning to invite Chinese travel and tour operators to the coastal state, with the aim to use China's outbound tourism market, but Coronavirus has put an end to those plans at the moment. 

"We recently had a proposal for bringing down tour operators from China. We had to cancel that because we did not want to take any risk," D'Souza said.

D'Souza also said that coronavirus suspects were being carefully screened in a joint effort by the state tourism and health departments in Goa. The state is following each advisory and precaution to curb the spread of the deadly virus. 

The smallest state, Goa is one of the leading beach and nightlife destinations in India. The coastal state attracted more than seven million tourists in 2019.

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Chinese delegation's visit on hold

A Chinese delegation's visit to Goa has been put on hold by tourism industry stakeholders in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the neighbouring country.

The delegation, comprising photographers, models, online and offline booking experts, and marketing strategists from China, was supposed to arrive in Goa on Sunday But, their visit has been now put on hold in view of the present situation following the outbreak of the coronavirus in China. The delegation was part of a marketing strategy planned by Goa tourism industry stakeholders to attract visitors from China. 

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