Goa Tourism Minister Wants Only ‘Rich Tourists’ to Visit: How Will it Impact the Casino Industry?

The coastal state of Goa thrives on its tourism industry, and given the present state of the country due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, the tourism industry has certainly taken a significant hit.

In a recent press conference, Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar (cover image) didn`t mince his words when he said that the state`s tourism image needs a facelift. The government is looking at recreating the image of Goa from the 1960s, and for this, they feel wealthy tourists need to be given preference over budget and local tourists. Despite the ridiculous suggestion, the idea, if implemented, should bode well for the casino industry as many people who come to the southern state do so to enjoy the casinos, which are currently legal only in Goa and Sikkim in the country.

At present, there are 86,508 confirmed COVID-19 cases in India, with the death toll touching 2,760 as of May 16. Goa is one of the least affected states in the country, with a total of 11 positive cases to date. Before the second wave of COVID-19 positive cases, Goa had successfully brought down its count from seven active cases to zero, and the last infected patient was discharged on April 17. The state did not report a single COVID-19 positive incident between April 3 and May 14.

For a state that is heavily dependent on tourism for survival, it is natural for the state government to start making plans on reviving the tourism industry once the quarantine is lifted. Ajgaonkar has told the press that the state will have to reinvent its tourism profile and return to the 1960s to rebuild itself as a tourism destination.

The minister reportedly said that tourists who are into drugs, cook on the roads, or are an inconvenience on the beaches, are not wanted. Only tourists who are wealthy and can honor Goa’s culture and beauty are desirable. He stressed that he didn’t want budget holidayers and backpackers to come to the state.

It is ironic to note that the era that Ajgaonkar wants to take the state back to is fondly remembered as the ‘hippie era.’ In fact, Goa’s thriving hippie culture is what put it on the international tourism map in the 1960s.

Nevertheless, Goa has come a long way from being labeled a drug-infested hippie haven, to becoming a booming tourist magnet, complete with hawker-filled beaches and floating casinos, that brought in an average of 8 Million footfalls in 2019-20.

So, if Ajgaonkar’s plan is implemented and only ‘rich tourists’ are allowed in the state, what does that mean for the casino industry. Given that even entering a casino is no cheap feat, it seems like the tourism minister’s plan may actually help the state’s casino industry.

It is a well-known fact that casinos are a significant tourist attraction in the state. Even after the state government shut down all public establishments back in March, poker room operators that we connected with had informed us that they were doing their best to look after their staff. While it is still unknown when the casinos will open, it is undeniable that for Goa’s tourism industry to flourish, the reopening of casinos will play a key role.

However, for casinos to become more attractive for tourists, especially to the wealthy & “well-traveled” crowd that the tourism ministry is targeting, the state government’s plan for relocating the offshore casinos to the planned entertainment zone near Mopa would need to be fast-tracked.

Nevertheless, as Ajgaonkar aptly said, “Until state-to-state level travel can happen, we cannot do anything. I feel only when a vaccine is invented, or a cure is developed, that tourism movement will begin to happen in Goa.”