Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte’s call for a crackdown on the mafia of touts is a welcome idea and comes at a time when the State has been increasingly earning a bad name in tourism. The tourism minister’s comment comes a week after 11 tourists from Changad in South Maharashtra were beaten up by a gang of touts after being lured into a room with a promise of cheap meals and massages. Khaunte pointed out that even nurses from the Goa Medical College were being fraudulently pitched to tourists by some touts. Earlier last month, Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho had termed rent-a-bikes a nuisance on Goan roads while calling for an audit of such bikes along with other taxis operating in the State. It is encouraging that ministers have begun eyeing the trouble spots in tourism, a sector which is currently the State’s major, if not only bread earner.
Tourism has changed over the years, and the talk about targeting high-spending tourists, the first point on Khaunte’s agenda when he took over, are long-term goals which will require meticulous planning along with a massive infrastructural upgrade. For now, Goa’s tourism is driven by desi tourists, and it is for the government of the day to ensure that tourists are respected and vice-versa. It is important that tourists respect the sanctity of Goa, follow the laws and behave appropriately. A picture of tourists in a car flinging an empty beer bottle from atop Atal Setu tells a story of sheer abuse and care-a-damn attitude of visitors. Tourists engage in crimes including rapes, and thefts besides other traffic violations like over-speeding, and rash and drunken driving. The system has tolerated this over the years.
Khaunte has said that the assault on Changad tourists is a slur on tourism, and yes it is. But who is to blame for this? Touts have surfaced, and most of them are migrants taking an illegal route to make a living. The system has allowed them to do so and lobbies have been extending tacit support. If the government was serious about cleansing the mess that tourism is in, it should have tightened the nuts and bolts long back. We just allowed the show to go on, not considering the adverse effect it has on Goa. If we don’t want another such slur on tourism then it’s high time the government cracks down on touts and enforces registration. In the current chaos, anything and everything has been allowed in the name of tourism. Touts are scattered all over the State “ from the vicinity of five-star resorts and casinos to popular tourist spots and are calling the shots.
On Wednesday, mystery shrouded the death of a tourist whose body was found dead in a locked Karnataka-registered car near Hotel Mandovi. The frequency of tourist-related happenings has seen a drastic increase in recent times warranting better enforcement, vigil and discipline. It is time that the government gives serious thought to managing tourism under the current circumstances and put protocols in place.
