Podcaster Ravi Handa sparked a lively conversation after revealing why he ditched Goa for Vietnam this new year. In a series of candid remarks, Handa shared his frustration over the behavior of North Indian tourists, both in Goa and abroad, terming their antics as disruptive.
“I went to Vietnam for New Year holidays and Goa was a choice,” Handa wrote. “But not for the reasons some of you on Twitter are going crazy. Goa has too many North Indian tourists and they ruin the experience.
He didn’t stop there, recounting incidents during his trip to Vietnam that further reinforced his views. “Even in Vietnam, the only bad behavior was from tourists from North India,” he said. Handa detailed a series of encounters, including a group loudly chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” in a train car full of Indians and another couple brazenly falling in line with the excuse “Aage chalo.” Yahan koi nahi rokega.
In another incident, he confronted someone jumping the queue on a cable car line, only to be told: “Hum logon ke pass special pass hai.” “I didn’t want to argue and I gave up,” he added.
Handa’s remarks came in response to a tweet from Deepak Shenoy, founder of CapitalMind, who shared his reasons for leaving Goa for Thailand in the new year. Shenoy posted, “I went to Thailand for New Year holidays and Goa was a choice. But not for the reasons some of you on Twitter are going crazy. The lifeguards in Goa whistle like crazy when you swim even a few meters in the sea. And it ruins the experience for me and my children.
Handa’s observations coincide with a broader conversation about Goa’s declining tourist appeal. Viral photos of empty cafes and deserted streets during peak season have reignited debates about Goa’s struggles with expensive flights, high hotel prices and what locals call the “taxi mafia”. Many Goans also voiced their complaints about unruly tourists, with Handa’s remarks adding fuel to the fire.
The Goa government, however, opposed this narrative. On December 31, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant insisted, “The months of November, December and January in Goa are going to be filled with tourists. All the hotels here are full and I think all the flights to Goa have been booked.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte echoed similar sentiments, accusing influencers of spreading misinformation. “We need to ensure that a wrong message is not created by someone,” he said, defending Goa’s status as a top destination.
