‘Influencers have started defaming Goa in a big way’

Calangute: Bloggers and social media influencers paid by vested interests are out to defame Goa, resulting in a decline in tourist footfall, stakeholders have said.
All-Goa Tourism Stakeholders Association president John Lobo said, “These bloggers and influencers are trying to bring down the name of Goa. Because of them, the name of Goa is being spoilt.”
Cruz Cardozo, president of Shack Owners Welfare Society, said, “Everybody is saying there are few tourists in Goa. Social media influencers have given us negative publicity for some reason.” He added, “We request govt to take action against these influencers.”
Lobo said influencers highlighted only random issues. “There are certain areas where there are a limited number of tourists and that is portrayed as the case with the whole of Goa, which is not true,” he said.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said, “Over the past six months, we have seen that tourism has gone down slightly. That’s affected guesthouses, small resorts, and restaurants.” He added, “There are different reasons for this. Bloggers have started defaming Goa in a big way. We as tourism stakeholders need to take measures to have a safe and clean destination.”
The MLA said cleanliness and safety of tourists should be given priority and only if these are taken care of will tourists start coming again. “Something is wrong with us as stakeholders and we’re not ready to take the responsibility,” he said. “With all the favourable conditions in Goa, why are we not attracting the high-end tourists from Europe who used to come here? If we don’t put things in order, we cannot attract high-end tourists.”
Stakeholders commended chief minister Pramod Sawant for initiating some measures to ensure that tourists are not harassed.