5 Tourism Tech Innovations in Goa

Technology and travel have become the perfect combination and the advances in technology have changed the whole tone of travelling and these innovations guarantee an even more interactive and exhilarating experience. This variety influences and plays a crucial role in the way everyone travels: from the holiday destination we choose, all the way to what we do once we reach there and even in the time after we've come back from our adventure. 

The tourism tech innovations in Goa are creating a similar environment for tourists by blending this wonderful combination of technology & travelling and in this article, we will discuss about 5 tourism tech innovations in Goa. 

5. GOAMILES | Tourism Tech Innovations in Goa

GOAMILES, as the name suggests is exclusively for the state of GOA.  It is a taxi booking service app, just like Uber or Ola it provides you with the simplest way to book a taxi when you arrive in Goa. Backed by the GTDC ( Goa Tourism Development Corporation) the taxi service provider has fixed prices with an option for weekly payments. The tariff includes hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, as well as MUVs for hire.

Apart from quick city transfers, Goa Miles also provides airport transfer services, while for client safety, the application offers GPS tracking. The forte of this Tourism tech innovation in Goa is that it is 1st App-based taxi service without levying drivers for services compared to other apps established in taxi services.  In 2020 it undertook a new feature of holiday packages & outstation 

4. E-commerce portal | Tourism Tech Innovations in Goa

The Goa Tourism Development Corporation launched its e-commerce website and mobile application on the Android and iOS platforms that provides tourists with a digital experience of Goa.  The web portal allows domestic and international visitors to browse through various options that help them choose holiday packages, travel itineraries, hotel bookings, sight-seeing, adventure trips, spice gardens, waterparks, crocodile Dundee, dolphin trips and much more, with ease, from pick-up at the airport to the activities available in Goa are all provided under this portal. 

In addition to English and Hindi, there are 6 more foreign languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, German and French that are available. The idea behind this tourism tech innovation was to create a worldwide database of travel agents interested in Goa and equip them with everything their customers need in the simplest form.

3. 360-degree video interactive website | Tourism Tech Innovations in Goa

Another addition to tourism tech innovation in Goa is the 360-degree video interactive website, inaugurated by Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte at Goa Pavilion’s participation in the Bolsa Turismo Lisboa. A total of over 180 spots are mapped on the website which includes hinterlands, eco-tourism, and other unexplored facets of Goa and visitors can visually explore and shortlist the places of interest as per the type of holiday they plan for. You can either click on a pop-up menu to a particular spot listed on the dock page or through hotspots that automatically pop up as you look around in 360 degrees. 

We wanted to create a unique interactive method for potential tourists to engage with our product offerings

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said on this new tourism tech innovation of Goa 

2. Smart tourism solutions | Tourism Tech Innovations in Goa

The concept of Smart Tourism is defined by the European Union as a destination facilitating access to tourism and hospitality products, services, spaces and experiences through ICT-based (Information and communications technology) tools. 

If any sector has been hit hardest due to the COVID-19 pandemic its tourism and smart tourist destinations will now be the focal point for the revival of the city and ease the blow of seasonal tourist destinations. Smart Tourism ameliorates this by producing an atmosphere in which a holiday-maker can do well. Goa is now preparing to become the world's leading destination for tourism tech innovations. 

1. Electrical Vehicle (EV) tourism initiative | Tourism Tech Innovations in Goa

One of the best tourism tech innovations in Goa is the Electrical Vehicle (EV) tourism launched in 2018 by GTDC ( Goa Tourism Development Corporation ) as India's first electric vehicle tourism initiative. It is a crucial step taken towards sustainable tourism by offering tourists a medium to explore and experience Goa in an eco-friendly way. These E-bikes are provided with features like battery-powered motors for speeds up to 25kmph, electronic disc brakes for enhanced safety and GPS trackers.

The feature that makes it unique is its web app which helps travellers seamlessly book the tours using digital currency and also provides real-time tour-related info to the tourists. Tourists will engage with the local communities allowing them to soak in the environment of authentic Goan culture with the help of this tourism tech innovation

Tourism is the spine of the Goan economy, as 40% of the citizens directly or indirectly dependent on it, with tourism tech innovations by GTDC the sector has shown strong development with total tourist arrivals increasing from 2.3 million in 2005 to 7.8 million in 2017. Now after the COVID-19 pandemic, Goa has been seeing a steady growth in tourists, with 4.94 million domestic and nearly a million international tourists arriving in 2022 for which the credit was given to the tourism tech innovations in Goa by GTDC.