‘Taxi mafia’, high costs and infrastructure blamed for decline
PANAJI
Foreign tourist arrivals to Goa have continued to disappoint despite crores spent by the government on promoting Goa and offline campaigns abroad to boost numbers. The blame remains on the long-standing, unresolved “taxi mafia” as several social media users narrate the tainted ground reality of harassment and price gouging by local taxi operators.
As per the global economic data provider CEIC, the highest record of foreign arrivals in the past decade was 8.5 million in 2019. During the COVID-affected years of 2020 and 2021, numbers plunged to 0.2 and 0.5 million, respectively. Although arrivals began to climb again reaching 1.2 million in 2022 and 1.5 million in 2023, the figures still fall far short of pre-pandemic highs when arrivals recorded between 6 and 8.5 million from 2014 to 2019.
The data has led to backlash across social media where visitors and even locals alike have voiced their grievances. Many stories centre on the high-handedness of local taxi operators.
Madhur, who took to X (formerly Twitter) shared a disturbing encounter while driving from Benaulim beach with a German friend.
“In no time there were 10-plus taxi drivers ready to beat us up. The local Goan friend tried to explain to them that this German lady is a friend but the taxi mafias were in no mood to understand. I had to drop the lady back to her stay house and she had to pay Rs 1,800 to a taxi guy (from that area) just for 37 km,” he recounted pointing at the adverse impact on foreign visitors.
Such stories are not isolated. Another visitor, Chirag Barjatya, recalled how he was forced to step down a foreign guest from his vehicle after a taxi driver threatened to damage his car. “Once in Goa, we gave a lift to a foreign tourist in our car. Some taxi guy stopped us and asked us to get him down or they would break the car,” he posted. The X user contrasted Goa’s unfavourable experience with other Indian tourist hubs like Pushkar and Udaipur, where tourists feel safer.
Not only domestic visitors but foreigners are also opting for other destinations with Goa’s exorbitant prices and lack of infrastructure blamed as another deterrent. A user named ‘Troll India Politics’ encouraged visitors to skip Goa for India’s temple tourism hotspots like Varanasi and Ujjain. Another user, Manish Singh, expressed a preference for Sri Lanka over Goa or Kerala.
Critics also noted Goa’s soaring costs relative to its limited facilities. One social media user known as ‘Uptown Girl’ stated that accommodation facilities and beach shacks in Goa charge more than better properties in popular international destinations. “Resorts and hotels even shacks are charging 4/5 times the right fare is 1 of the major reasons too. 1 can get better hotels at cheaper rates in Krabi, Bali or even Florida,” the user said.
Infrastructure is another broader issue highlighted by one Siddharth Singh who posted, “A lot of people think Goa has overtourism. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia, coastal Spain, etc serve exponentially more tourists for much less money, much better transport, and have higher standards of living and better preserved natural environment. We are failing Goa.”
