“Oh, wow! You live in Goa? You must be partying all the time,” is a question that residents of Goa are often asked. There is a perception of Goa that is falsely curated by social media -- a very recent example being the controversial viral video on Instagram by a user named Monalisa Ghosh.
She portrays Goa as a hotbed of alcohol and partying. In what she later called a joke, she said that instead of water, restaurants were offering only beer, all she could find on Zomato was alcohol shops, and that bikinis were the only clothing items available in Goa. She went on to call Chappora fort ‘Chopra fort’ and after climbing the stairs to go up, said, “this is what I came for? To look at rocks and sand?”
Locals did not take this well, with many of them commenting that they’re reporting her posts, while others said, “this is exactly the kind of reputation we’re trying to combat.”
This is just a fraction of the disappointment Goans feel over the way tourists behave in the state. “You can see the attitude change on the flights to Goa itself,” said Shruti Nair, a resident of Vasco. “They behave in Goa, in ways they would never behave in their home states.”
Nathan D’Silva from Dabolim said, “Some tourists treat Goa like they can do anything in Goa without consequences as long as you have money.” He added, “People from bigger cities call Goa extremely backward till it is time to vacation here -- then it becomes the best place in
the world.”
“As someone who has lived in Goa for 15 years, my family and I have still have not been able to explore so much of Goa,”said Shruti. “How will social media posts ever be able to depict the real Goa then?”
Nathan added, “We can’t even call what’s on social media a ‘false image’, the tourists come here and make it that way.”
“They [tourists] assume Goa to be an ‘alcohol destination’,” said travel influencer Kevin Pinto.”Goa has so much more to offer. Goa is rich in culture and heritage -- so many beautiful temples, churches, and festivals. Most tourists tend to overlook these, don’t do proper research and in the name of being an influencer ‘degrade’ the name of Goa,” he added.
Kevin also emphasised the importance of respecting the place, the people, and the culture of the particular place the tourists are visiting -- whether it is Goa or any other destination. “Before putting up anything on social media, it is very important to conduct research of the place that you visit and then only make statements,” he said.
It is only once people spend time here, in this beautiful coastal state, people realise that Goa isn’t what they had imagined it to be. Sonakshi Chaudhary, who recently moved to Goa after getting married, said “They way Goa was described to me, it seemed like a madhouse. The mysterious land of carefree people, wild party animals, and scenic beauty was both scary and mesmerising to me.”
“I believe it’s just like any other place in India, maybe just slower and quieter, but definitely not lawless and detached from India like it was always portrayed to be,” she said.
But people have been taking advantage of how hospitable Goans have been to tourists, she said. “Littering, unacceptable drunk behaviour, molestation instances have made the natives quite protective of their land.” she added, “The tourists who make Goa sound like a carefree place with no rules and regulations, probably are the ones who couldn’t care less about them once they are out of their cities.”
Yet, tourism remains essential to Goa. According to a 2019 study from G.V.M.’s College of Commerce & Economics, the tourism industry contributes 18 percent to Goa’s Net State Domestic Product and 14 percent of the total foreign exchange earned in the country. It also indicates that domestic tourism in the state saw a sharp upward trend from the year 2000 and it has only risen since then.
Goa has been a popular vacation spot for many years before its reputation changed. The pristine beaches and the confluence of Portuguese and Indian cultures have made Goa a much desirable place to be. However the appeal of the nightlife and casinos has generated a lot of interest in visits to Goa.
Jouella Gonsalves, who is half Goan and resides in Mumbai, occasionally visited Goa as a young girl. But as she grew older, the plans changed to ‘Goa trips’ with friends. “With the media I was consuming, this idea of Goa being a party hub was being fed to me,” she said. “I left Goa with great memories the last time I was here, so I don’t think partying here is the problem, it’s that people here need to understand that Goa is so much more than a tourist destination.”
She cited Fountainhas as an example, “It’s a beautiful place and we all love getting aesthetic photos, but we need to remember that people live here and that these are their homes.” She added, “We can’t click photos at the expense of their peace.”
One of the biggest complaints from locals has been the invasion of privacy and disturbance caused near their areas of residence, mainly for photographs on social media. This in turn increases the popularity of the location and becomes inviting to more and more people.
Social media is the word-of-mouth for strangers online, “Some content creators resort to controversial click bait content, focusing solely on cheap alcohol, parties, and the perception of ultimate freedom,” says travel influencer, Nyeree Viegas.”This portrayal can be misleading and attract the wrong audience, potentially misinterpreting the true essence of Goa and contributing to negative impacts on the destination,” she added. “Unfortunately, it is the latter that gets the most amount of views.”
People on social media have to be mindful of their portrayal of a place, “if I misrepresent a place for click bait or sensationalism, it can lead to the exploitation of the destination and damage its reputation.” said Nyeree. She added that as a content creator, she strives to be mindful of the impact her portrayals have, “I use my platform to promote responsible travel, cultural understanding, and environmental conservation.”
Kevin added a similar point, “For a state like Goa, there are many sentiments attached to it, and mocking a place, its people or its religion hurts the sentiments of the locals. If one does it, another will do and the same will continue knowing how social media is these days.” He added, “Therefore everyone, influencer or traveller, needs to do a proper research before portraying a place on their social platform.”