Reports have had it that the Ministry of Tourism under the Central Government is going to come out with national policy for standardisation and accreditation of homestays. This is a huge opportunity for Goa, particularly from the point of view of hinterland tourism.
PANAJI
Not far from Goa are tourism destinations like Coorg and Chikmaglur in Karnataka. Both these places in the neighbouring state are very famous for their homestays, wherein a local family not only provides accommodation to the tourists, but also a chance to experience life the way they live by offering home-made local delicacies in meals.
Unfortunately, homestays haven't flourished in Goa despite the state's unique culture and heritage and also abundance of old houses, especially in the hinterland. It is in this context that Central Government's Ministry of Tourism's plans to come out with a national policy for standardisation and accreditation of homestays should be seen.
But, before we go any further, let's understand how homestays are different from hotels or guest-houses. What sets homestays apart is that they allow tourists to stay with a local family in their house, eat food with them and have a very rooted stay experience.
Compared to that, hotels offer a very standardised and impersonal experience. As for the guest-houses in Goa, most of them don't offer anything apart from accommodation, as tourists have to arrange for even food themselves.
Clearly, homestays are distinct and unique and this is where the opportunity lies. Ralph de Sousa, chairman of de Souza Group, said, "The fact that central government is coming out with a policy on homestays provides an excellent opportunity to Goa. If you want to experience a place, homestays are the best way to go about it. A number of traditional houses in Goa, which are in disrepair, can be taken up as home-stays, if this concept is encouraged."
De Sousa continued, "There has been a huge growth in properties in the unorganised sector. If you allow properties to be registered as home-stays, it will bring in a lot of regularisation."
This is an extremely important point, as properties in unorganised sector are often unregistered. These properties have proliferated to such an extent that it becomes difficult to monitor their growth. In such a case, if a simple process for registering homestays is introduced, then a lot of such unregistered properties can get registered.
de Sousa further said, "Growth in home-stays will provide thousands of additional rooms to the tourism sector. This means that hotels will not have to add those many rooms and therefore over development will be prevented because the rooms in homestays already exist."
The beach areas of Goa - Baga to Sinquerim in the North and Colva to Cavelossim in the South - are already getting saturated with hotels. Most families, who had houses in these areas, have got them converted into either hotels or guest-houses. It will be tough to market homestays in these areas because tourists there are too used to staying in hotels.
But, in other parts of the state like Sanguem, Quepem, Aldona, Chandor, Dabolim and etc, homestays will actually allow tourists to explore Goa in a way they have never done before. These parts have a number of old heritage houses as well, which can be converted into homestays.
Savio Messias, president, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), said, "It will be a great thing if common standards are brought in for homestays in India. The standards should clearly spell out the safety and security measures, which will have to be taken by the home-stays. For instance, which forms have to be filled, if a foreigner stays at a homestay. Adequate measures should also be taken to deal with garbage at homestays."
Messias continued, "There are so many old houses in Goa. These houses don't fetch any income to the owners. If they can be converted into homestays, people will be benefited."
If homestays are encouraged, people in villages will get a source of income and the old houses will be renovated and repaired. This will also help in retaining the essence of villages in Goa, which are fast going concrete with hotels and residential complexes coming up everywhere.
Naturally, the hoteliers feel a bit threatened due to homestays. Polly D' Cruz, general manager, The Golden Crown Hotel & Spa in Colva, said, "The concept of homestays is good. But, for the hotels, it means more competition. Homestays provide food to tourists. In such a case, if a hotel has kitchen amenities, then it's fine. Else, homestays will have an edge."
In case, a hotel doesn't have a kitchen, a tourist can't make his own food. D'Cruz added, "Most tourists, especially Russians, prefer making their own food."
Since homestays have kitchen, tourists, who like making their own food, will prefer them over hotels without kitchen. But, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the concept of homestays. A hotel manager from Calangute said, "I don't think that homestays will work in Goa. This is because families don't entertain tourists anymore."
This might be true for areas like Baga and Calangute. But, in other parts of Goa, especially where sources of income are few, people will be happy if they can make some income from their houses, when they are converted into homestays.
In fact, many foreigners have taken up old Goan houses and converted them into properties, which offer almost a homestay kind of experience. Therefore, there is no reason why Goans wouldn't like to get into this business provided there is a clear policy.
Why do we need homestays in Goa?
There are many old dilapidated houses in Goa. Often, the owners don't have money to repair and manage them. If these houses can get converted into homestays, the owner will be able to earn some income, which will help them in taking care of the property.
Tourists staying at homestays get to live with a local family and experience various aspects of Goan life. Such experience tourists can never have in hotels.
Homestays, especially in hinterland of Goa, will provide a very different experience to the tourists. Most tourists limit their Goa stay to a beach trip. They will find an interesting alternative with homestays.
Homestays will also add thousands of rooms to the tourism sector. This means that additional hotels will not have to be constructed, which will prevent concretisation of Goa.
If process of registering homestays is made simple, then regularisation of a lot of unregistered properties will happen.
