Goa's Economy

Goa's economy is dominated by two pillars, namely, Mining and Tourism. Mining contributes to the bulk of Goa's overseas exports. This industry is primarily dominated by a few family based companies.

To many, the rather small amounts of foreign exchange earned by tourism is rather surprising. One reason for the relatively small amounts of foreign currency generated is that many of the tourists that come to Goa come on relatively inexpensive, pre-packaged charter groups. 50% of all charter arrivals in to India head for Goa. In contrast, 10% of the regular non-charter arrivals head for Goa. When one considers Goa's relatively diminutive population of 1.2 million versus India's 1 billion, these figures are clearly impressive and indicate that Goa is the premier travel spot for foreign tourists arriving in India. However, in terms of volume, Goa's tourism industry is dominated by its domestic market and not the international market, which is another reason why the foreign exchange earnings are relatively small. The bulk (50%) of the foreign tourists originate from the U.K. with the next largest groups coming from the Scandinavian countries and Germany.

Where tourism and the services sector does make an impact is in the domestic production of goods and services. Goa is perhaps the only state in the country where agriculture's share of GDP is less than 30%.

Fisheries, food canning, shipping, cashews, coconuts and liquor also form a vital part of its economy. In 1996, real-estate prices tumbled by as much as 30% which was expected to cause a temporary drop in the housing index.

Most Goans complain about the rapid rise in food prices.Many attribute this to the large influx of tourists in to Goa who increase demand or are willing to pay higher prices for these products. On the other hand, tourism does provide a livelihood to many Goans.