So much for the rhetoric about making Goa a high-end tourism destination, all indications on ground show us that the state’s tourism is going more and more mass with every passing day.
What could be a better signal of that than the fact that a number of eateries have opened, which cater to mass tourists, exactly in the premises, where till recently we used to have upmarket restaurants.
Consider the case of a newly opened Udupi restaurant in Miramar in premises where sometime back we used to have a french café called Delicieux. Similarly, in Calangute, a very average restaurant has opened where Chicken Man used to be.
Clearly, it is not the fault of the just opened Udupi restaurant in Miramar, but, it does show that there is very little planning on ground to regulate what kind of business establishments will open and where.
Everyone knows that mass tourists come to Goa every weekend in hordes. In a situation like this, if the state government allows businesses catering to such tourists to open anywhere, then, it will only make it very difficult to have places exclusively meant for high-end tourists.
This is a classic case of the forces of demand and supply taking over and showing us that the reality is Goa has already become a mass tourism destination.
Worse still, there is no capping on how many restaurants, cafes and hotels can open anywhere in Goa. Road widening works are taking place at Candolim. Wider roads mean more hotels and restaurants in Candolim. But, there is absolutely no check on what kind of restaurants and hotels they will be.
Until now, the road from Candolim to Sinquerim is known for upmarket and niche restaurants like Tuscany Gardens and Bomras, which attract high-end tourists. But, with widened roads, more hotels and restaurants will open there, which are bound to invite mass tourists. The whole vibe of that stretch between Candolim and Sinquerim is set to change.
The questions which our politicians and policy-makers should be asking themselves are these: Why is it so hard to maintain the quaint and pristine vibe of Goan villages? Why should Miramar Beach be lined with chaat stalls, which only attract mass tourists? Wouldn’t it have been better to have these chaat stalls in a complex somewhere in Panaji?
There is nothing wrong with getting a lot of mass tourists, per se. But, the state government needs to realise that it is the vibe of Goa, which attracts all sorts of tourists, whether mass or elite. This vibe can only be preserved by efficiently regulating business and construction happening in the state. Otherwise, Goa will only become more and more mass tourism destination.
