Goa Tourism’s Women-Led Homestay Vision Delivers Its First International Success
Sea View Homestay in Canacona, supported through Goa Tourism’s women-focused initiative, secures first international booking, demonstrating the impact of Hon’ble Minister for Tourism Shri Rohan A. Khaunte’s vision of taking tourism beyond beaches
Panaji, Goa | August 27, 2026: Goa’s next tourism success story is not being built in a five-star hotel. It is taking shape at a woman’s home in Polem, Canacona, where a Goa Tourism-supported homestay is ready to welcome its first international guests from France.
Sea View Homestay, owned by Janvi Prasad Naik, has secured its first international booking from a French couple for a month-long stay, marking a significant milestone for the rural entrepreneur and offering a tangible example of how Goa Tourism’s focus on women-led and community-based tourism is translating into opportunities on the ground.
The development comes after Janvi was among the women entrepreneurs who was supported with a grant of ₹ 2.5 lakh for successfully establishing homestay businesses under the State’s women-focused Homestay Initiative.
The initiative, championed by Shri Rohan A. Khaunte as part of Goa’s broader Goa Beyond Beaches vision, seeks to bring rural communities into the tourism economy by enabling local entrepreneurs, particularly women, to create sustainable businesses rooted in their homes, communities and local surroundings.
For Janvi, the government support helped her make the essential investments required to start operations and prepare her home to welcome visitors.
“We utilised the grant sanctioned to us by Goa Tourism to purchase a fridge and an AC. We bought these to ensure a quick start to our operations since we were just beginning. That grant helped us cover the initial season. I sincerely thank our Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and the Goa Tourism Department for sanctioning the grant and helping us move forward,” said Janvi Prasad Naik, owner of Sea View Homestay.
Today, that initial support has translated into an international tourism opportunity, with the homestay ready to welcome guests from France for an extended stay.
The journey of Sea View Homestay reflects the larger direction being pursued by Goa Tourism under the leadership of Shri Rohan A. Khaunte: moving beyond a tourism model centered primarily on the coastline and creating opportunities for communities in Goa’s villages and hinterland to participate directly in the State’s tourism economy.
“When we speak of Goa Beyond Beaches, we are speaking about a Goa where our villages, our communities and our people are active participants in tourism. Homestays are an important part of that vision because they allow visitors to experience Goa through its people, homes, culture and way of life, while creating meaningful livelihood opportunities for local families. The journey of Sea View Homestay shows what can happen when we put our local entrepreneurs at the centre of tourism development,” said Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Shri Rohan A. Khaunte.
The Minister has consistently emphasised the need to make tourism more inclusive and community-driven, with women entrepreneurs playing a central role in strengthening Goa’s hinterland tourism ecosystem.
The success of Sea View Homestay also comes as Goa Tourism continues to strengthen its Homestay and Bed & Breakfast framework. The Department’s current scheme has evolved from the earlier policy to provide greater financial and non-financial support to eligible homestays, with a focus on improving quality, simplifying registration, strengthening marketing and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities in Goa’s hinterland.
The Department’s Homestay framework specifically identifies rural homestays as a means of creating self-employment and livelihood opportunities for communities in tourism-potential areas, while allowing visitors to experience Goa’s cultural ethos, cuisine, heritage, natural landscape and traditional hospitality. Canacona is among the talukas identified for hinterland-focused incentives.
For Janvi, the location of Sea View Homestay itself offers guests the opportunity to experience a different side of Goa.
“A major plus point of Sea View Homestay is that there are many beautiful beaches to visit nearby, and additionally, you get to experience ‘Goa Beyond Beaches’,” she said.
The French booking adds another dimension to that vision. It demonstrates that the appeal of Goa’s hinterland is not limited to domestic travellers, but can also attract international visitors looking for longer, more immersive stays and a closer connection with the local community.
What began with support to help a rural woman establish a homestay has now opened the door to the international tourism market.
From a home in Polem to a booking from France, Sea View Homestay represents the larger ambition of Goa Tourism under Hon’ble Minister for Tourism Shri Rohan A. Khaunte: to ensure that the benefits of tourism reach beyond established tourist centres and into the homes, villages and communities that make Goa unique.
