Speaking in the Assembly recently, Goa Forward Party leader, Vijay Sardessai said, Goa could have been a destination like Mauritius, but the government has turned it into a combination of Pattaya and Somalia. He said, “the strength of Goa lies in its natural beauty, hospitality and liberal and progressive people. But now it has become a must-go destination for third rate tourism”.
There was a time when Goa was only known for its natural beauty, hospitality and liberal attitude. These attributes still exist, but they are not the main stay. The chief attraction today is ‘Goa the brand’ which was built by stakeholders and players in the industry through advertisement, brochures, word of mouth and years of hard work. Today, Goa tourism rests on three pillars - cheaper liquor, night life and off-shore and on-shore gambling. The natural beauty, beaches and heritage are supporting pillars.
Over the years, stake holders gradually added, self travel through rent-a-bike and cars, adventure sports, water entertainment (boat rides, scuba diving, water scooters, dolphin trips and so on) with the government acting as a licensing agent instead of playing the role of promoter.
Goa has evolved as a tourism destination. Whether it has morphed into a Pattaya or Somalia is up for debate, but the reality is that stake holders have cleverly adapted to the changing demands of tourists. Goa, today represents fun, frolic and entertainment, which is greatly hampered by ‘out of sync’ sound rules. But that is a different matter.
As far as hospitality goes, the state has a varied mix, from five and seven star hotels, to home stays to cook-on-the-footpath. This all embracing policy, if it can be called that, has succeeded in drawing nearly six million guests to the state. Broadly speaking, this is where we have reached after nearly 50 years of tourism.
There was a time when we dreamed of becoming Singapore, but our elected representatives gave up when they realised the high levels of commitment required to achieve this goal. There were several feeble attempts in the form of tourism master plans, but all those remained on paper. So we shifted our gaze to the Mauritius model, and if Sardessai is correct, even that looks unattainable. Why? Because governments past and present haven’t a clue on how to reach there. Secondly, governments, have generally allowed the industry to set the pace and give direction, which is not a bad thing, when you totally lack a vision and have no stamina to govern. All said and done, the industry has done pretty well in keeping Goa on the world map. If you have been watching foreign movies on OTT platforms you will occasionally come across a reference to Goa.
Goa was probably, the first state to embrace tourism in a very big way. So it made all the mistakes. Traditionally, Goa placed its faith in numbers with the tacit belief that quality would find its own level. The state’s road network is better than most states, but it cannot handle six million tourists who arrive every year on flights, buses and in private cars. The result is traffic jams, which have angered locals but not deterred tourists from coming back. I suppose the reasoning is that most tourists come from cities that have traffic snarls which make Goa look like a breeze. So, there is no compulsion on the part of the government to change anything. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Instead, the government, or vested interests in the government are expanding. A look at tourism along the beach belt shows that the industry functions along one road with restaurants and hotels on either side. The plan in some of the northern areas is to develop a secondary road, parallel to the first one. This will eventually happen because tourists keep pouring in and there is a lot of money to be made.
But there is a push back from people who think that the state has reached a tipping point. Stake holders differ with this view. There were attempts in the past to determine the carrying capacity of the beaches and interiors, but the reports were shelved because a government which can reign in the haphazard growth or give it direction is yet to be elected.
This pushback against excess tourism is happening all over the world as local communities, which once benefited from tourism, now find themselves squeezed into a corner with rise in living costs and sky-high housing rates.
Earlier this month residents of Barcelona, Spain marched in protests firing water pistols at tourists. The message was clear, ‘tourists go home’. The reason was the rising cost of housing. Rents had soared by 68 percent over a decade while the cost of buying a house had gone up by 38 per cent in the same period. Residents say, tourism had made them poorer, not richer.
As the backlash against over-tourism spreads, the European head of the world’s largest cruise trade body warned that its members would have to avoid some of the famous destinations as a precaution.
Goa might not be Singapore, but in a way, we are Mauritius with a difference. A lot of tourists go to Mauritius for the beaches and the clear blue water. But some time ago, the government realised that it was not enough. So it added entertainment like night life, scuba diving, water sports, adventure tourism and all. Truth be told, the industry in Goa added all that decades ago.
All said and done, we are still ahead of the curve. The only aspect of tourism that needs some thought is whether we should continue to place our faith in numbers or reduce the numbers but push the value up. This is easier said than done, but it is time Goa starts thinking about it.
(Derek Almeida is a former editor who always took the road less travelled)