Digital Goa, July 24 – Refuting claims of a fall in tourist footfall, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte today informed the house thae Goa recorded 54.55 lakh tourist arrivals including 51.83 lakh domestic and 2.71 lakh foreign tourists, in first six months of 2025 alone. He was responding to Calangute MLA Michael Lobo who alleged that tourism was on a major decline and questioned the accuracy of data provided in response to his Legislative Assembly Question (LAQ). Govt plans to amend the Goa Tourism Trade Act to empower authorities to act against illegalities, Khaunte said. When systems are being put in place, legislators from coastal constituencies should stand with the administration, he asserted. Department has begun collecting tourist data using the Tourism Information Management Enterprise (TIME) software, now mandatory for hotels and this will help the govt get updated, realtime tourism related data, he said.
