Goa approaches yet another World Tourism Day high on promise but a visible disconnect between what the State envisages and what has been achieved. The choices have long been out -- between quality and quantity of tourists, between redefining concepts and redefining the tourists that are welcome, between sea, sand and surf that has traditionally been the selling point and newer concepts that have emerged lately.
The question, however, is whether Goa has moved towards the change it envisages or whether we are paying only lip service to giving tourism a makeover. Under Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte's leadership, some innovative concepts have been floated with a clear purpose of refinement — the focus being upmarket tourism. The ideas are, no doubt, brilliant, and the State can eventually salvage itself from the mess that it is currently witnessing. The question is about a time-bound roadmap and not mere ideas.
Wooing the European market or selling Goa tourism globally may be essential to keep the State in tune with the competition. But if we are targeting those destinations, what are we providing in Goa? Is there a value addition to the Goa tourism platter, or are we still selling beaches, casinos, alcohol, and hospitality and expecting a windfall through a sudden rush of high-end tourists descending on Goa?
Where is the immersive experience for tourists beyond the beaches?
On paper, and in the tourism minister's tone, the government looks at giving tourists an immersive experience beyond the beaches. There's a lot that is being spoken — from bread and breakfast policy to promote agro tourism, heritage tourism, hinterland tourism, nautical tourism, caravan tourism, staycation, sky diving, hot air balloon rides, Quitol oceanarium, a tourism tech destination, developing places like Mayem lake and others, appointing a PR agency to promote Goa tourism, forging partnerships, a collaboration with Portugal in innovative technologies and tourism practices, signing MoU with Uttarakhand with an eye on spirituality, wellness and eco-tourism, an additional app for taxis and an app to monitor the flow of tourists and the list goes on.
Ideating is, in fact, good. The question is whether the State is moving in that direction. For a common citizen, the concepts of change do not make sense because the spirit behind the change is not visible anywhere on the ground. It's time that the government introspect on this Tourism Day and set clear time-bound goals. There is a need to assess whether the State can afford to phase out the current brand of tourism gradually and, if yes, what it needs to begin doing and when.
Building infrastructure to meet expectations and competition will be a sizeable task involving investment, time and energy. However, if there is intent in a change, it must be reflected on the ground, at least in small measure, immediately. Currently, nothing suggests that tourism is gliding towards a new direction. Goa continues to dance to the same tunes — same tourists, same chaos, same set of issues and the same set of complaints and counter-complaints.
If the perception of Goa tourism has to change, there are a lot of connecting elements that also need to change. The tourism ministry has shown much promise and ambition, but delivery remains a million-dollar question.
