The lockdown has made us itching to get back out on the road. To meet with friends, go out, maybe take a trip to celebrate the ending of the pandemic. For young Indian millennials, what is the first travel destination that comes to their mind?

Yes, you guessed it right. It’s Goa. The state that is the quintessential travel destination for Indians and is also responsible for being the focus of thousands of unfulfilled college plans is what comes to our mind first when we think of a trip.

But the post lockdown world is going to bring a “new normal” and that “new normal” may play a party pooper to all your Goa plans. This is because both the Tourism Minister and the Chief Minister have recently made statements indicating that not everyone who wants to come to Goa will be welcome.

Goa To Open Soon, But Only For The Rich?

Whether the state opens soon and returns to normalcy is itself in threat, as Goa reported seven fresh COVID-19 positive cases were on 14 May.

However, when the state was earlier declared “corona free” Goa’s Tourism Minister, Manohar Ajgaonkar had some interesting things to say when it came to tourists in the state.

Speaking to IANS, Ajgaonkar said, “We want good tourists who are wealthy and who can appreciate Goa and its culture.”

The statement went viral on social media, with many pointing out for its classist and confusing nature. Not only this the Minster also went on to reveal how Goa plans to revert back to its roots, focusing only on a certain class of tourists. He also went as far as to say that they’ll look to take Goa back to the 1960s and they don’t want tourist who consumer drugs, cook on roads.

Well right now there’s no official statement on what will be the criteria for tourists who’re looking to visit the state post lockdown, but looking at the statements of the tourism Minister, you may want to start saving up if you want to execute that Goa plan.

Don’t Come To Goa To Enjoy

A similar call asking people to not visit Goa unnecessarily was echoed by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

IN a message directed towards non-Goans he said "They will have to stay indoors at their respective hotels for 14 days. They cannot enter the beaches, which remain closed. They cannot come here to enjoy."

The Chief Minister also requested that the Railways cancel the halt at Madgaon station for special trains being operated. Stating that the majority of the travellers weren’t Goan, it would increase the burden on the state during such times as they will have to test them and arrange home quarantine for the arrivals.

With the state concerned with the number of cases and looking to reduce the entry of tourists for its safety, it looks like al of those post lockdown goa plans will have to wait.