'Paid' Social Media Influencers Trying To Malign Goa's Image: State Tourism Minister

Goa's Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Thursday (2 January) accused social media influencers of tarnishing the state’s reputation and alleged that some of them were “paid” participants in a “toolkit” designed to damage Goa’s image.

During a press conference, Khaunte condemned social media influencers who spread misinformation suggesting a decline in tourist arrivals to Goa.

“It’s a direct charge I am making. These influencers are paid influencers onboarded by people to malign Goa. As far as data is concerned, we have surpassed the figures for domestic tourist (arrivals as compared to last year). The season has been good, exceptional… and we expect 2025 will also be good for tourism,” he said.

“The hotel occupancy… for five- and four-star hotels has been close to 100 per cent, and in the lower category of hotels, it is 60-65 per cent. This speaks about the number of tourists who were in Goa. People come to Goa for what it is. More importantly, Goa’s beauty and creativity and other things… cannot be compared with Thailand. We don’t want to experience a Thailand in Goa," the minister said, Indian Express reported.

Khaunte vowed to take “action against anyone defaming the state” and revealed that the government is collaborating with its PR team on a strategy.

“Once the complete figures (of tourist footfall) come, we will share and come up with an overall implementation plan… and expose these particular influencers, who have tried to malign the image of Goa," he said.

Acknowledging that there were some “issues” related to taxis, hotel pricing, and connectivity, Khaunte said, “Every tourist destination has its set of challenges, not just in India, but across the world. We are here to hear and resolve tourists’ grievances. I am not justifying the issues, but at the same time, we need to ensure that a wrong message is not created by someone. Let us amplify the right issues. Let us not disturb Goa with smaller issues when it is a tourism destination.”

According to Khaunte, several restaurateurs have said that influencers from outside Goa often request “free lunches” or “free stays” in exchange for promoting specific narratives on social media.

He called upon Goan influencers to showcase the “real picture” of the state.

He said that river cruise operators, which run for one hour in the evening, will be directed to play only Goan music and serve Goan snacks.

“For private parties on the cruise, they can play any music,” he said.

In November, Goa’s tourism infrastructure was in the spotlight after a viral social media post claiming that “foreign tourists have abandoned the state” triggered a barrage of reactions, with many sharing their negative experiences of visiting the state and others claiming that people were now heading to destinations such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam instead.

In November, a viral social media post alleging that “foreign tourists have abandoned the state” sparked widespread reactions.

Many shared negative experiences about the state, while others claimed that travelers were increasingly choosing destinations like Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In response, the Goa government issued a “rebuttal,” asserting that comparing a state to a country like Sri Lanka offers an “inaccurate perspective.”

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