The sighting of a crocodile on a Goa beach which went viral on social media is being used to discredit India’s favourite beach holiday area, according to a Goa tourism official.
Francisco Braganza, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa said local media were "blowing out of proportion" the impact of the crocodile on Morjim beach and even claimed a rival tourism destination were taking advantage of it to scare off tourists.
"A rival destination is attempting to create an issue with regards to the safety of Goa beaches. The national media seems to have blown the story out of proportion. The media ought to have heard the other side of the story before attempting to put fear in the tourists," Braganza said.
A local snapped the crocodile on the beach and posted it to his Facebook page which soon went viral.
Goa has a sizeable crocodile population which is confined to the state’s inland marshes.
Crocodiles are very rarely seen in coastal areas with Braganza speculating it must have lost its way within Goa’s river system.
