There is no greater concern facing the tourism industry today than the fact that this season has witnessed fewer Russian tourists in Goa than earlier seasons. It needs to be asked how Goa will survive as a destination if Russian tourists start preferring other
destinations.
As per the Tourism Department’s statistics, more than 90,000 Russian tourists visited Goa in the previous season from October 2018 to May 2019. The number of British tourists was around 60,000 in the same period.
No other country sends more tourists to Goa than Russia. Such is the impact of Russian tourists that entire areas in Arpora and Morjim are dedicated to them. Many restaurants and cafes have their boards and menus in Russian language. If Russian tourists stay away from Goa, it will definitely result in unemployment in these areas.
We must also understand what the reason is behind Russians going to other destinations like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Turkey. Most tourism stakeholders maintain that other destinations are cheaper than Goa for Russian tourists.
However, the bigger reason is that Goa has hardly improved as a destination in the last decade or so. The government has still not sorted out the taxi issue and commuting is a big headache in the State. Local taxi operators ask ridiculously high fares.
The roads in many beach areas are dug up. Then, beaches are often dirty. The government has failed to provide the basics. The infrastructure in other destinations is top-notch, but Goa is lagging behind. Why would tourists come to a destination, which is facing such apathy from its own government?
Despite the tourism industry pleading many times, the government has still not started incentivising tour operators, who bring foreign tourists. Several destinations in South-East Asia give cash incentives to tour operators to motivate them to bring foreign tourists.
The State Government spends crores of rupees in marketing Goa as a destination, but so far, it doesn’t provide such incentives to the tour operators. The government will have to find a concrete way to bring Russian tourists. Or else, they will avoid Goa, which is something tourism industry can’t afford.
If foreign tourists stop coming to Goa, chances are very high that the number of Indian tourists will decline as well. Without foreign tourists, Goa will be like any other beach destination in India.
It is high time that the government and the tourism stakeholders sit together and find a solution to this problem. Once and for all, find a solution to the taxi issue and garbage problem. If these two problems are sorted, that itself will bring a many foreign tourists to the State.
