Write a feature article on the topic: 'Goan Tourism During the Pandemic".
Answers
On March 24th, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nation-wide lockdown as a response to the spread of the coronavirus: from March 25th, all non-essential services were suspended for 21 days. On April 14th, the lockdown was extended to May 3rd, however, some states may be allowed to relax their restrictions. As part of our Future of Work and Sustainable Goa initiatives, we are investigating how labour is being impacted by the coronavirus crisis and lockdown in Goa. This is the Covid 19: Goa series.
The tourist industry is currently the biggest industry in Goa, making up 40 percent of the state revenue in 2018. 40 percent of the Goan population is dependent on tourism for an income, as well as many migrant workers who travel to Goa to work in the industry. There are fears that up to 70,000 tourism jobs could be lost as a result of the coronavirus crisis in the state. Therefore the effects of the coronavirus crisis, current lockdowns and future disruption to the travel industry will have a potentially dire impact on those who rely on tourism for income.
Current situation
The 2019/20 tourist season in Goa was struggling even before the coronavirus crisis. In January 2020, a pre-budget memorandum was sent to the Chief Minister of Goa raising concerns about the tourism sector suffering from de-growth and negative publicity in the international sphere, due to harassment of tourists, crime and poor infrastructure. These issues had led to a decrease in tourist arrivals over the past few years. Additionally, due to cyclonic monsoon weather extending into the beginning of the tourist season in October and November, there was a delay to the start of the season, which also impacted the number of tourists visiting Goa, as well as businesses' ability to provide their normal tourist services.