Outbursts not in the interest of Goa tourism, warn stakeholders

PANAJI: With minister after minister in the current BJP-led government targeting the ‘domestic tourists’, the state’s tourism stakeholders have cautioned that the manner in which ministers are going about could alienate domestic tourists in the state.
Speaking to The Goan, President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa Savio Messias admitted that there was “concern” about the state attracting low-income tourists, but that the “issue has to be handled better.”
“It was harsh and uncalled for, but I don’t think it is going to affect the image of Goa for now. If the series of these kinds of things happen… then maybe. I don’t think it will affect Goa’s image for the moment,” Messias told The Goan.
He said that while domestic tourists are a major chunk, their low spending power and lack of civic was a cause of concern and needed to be handled better with better enforcement, better rules and a manner of doing it.
On Friday, Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai while speaking about the problems like garbage and lack of civic sense afflicting Goa blamed a large part on the domestic tourists in the state who he said were “scum of the earth”.
“[The] Chief Minister is pushing to increase tourists coming into Goa. Today we have almost six times population of Goa coming as tourists. Those tourists are not top end tourists, they are also the scum of the earth,” Sardesai said as he went on to add that they cannot be controlled.
“Can u control them? We could control them at one point in time. But we jumped the Russian …we decided to put all eggs in one basket. The British have gone away. And, now we are dependent upon the north Indians and this is what they do. They are not bothered about Goa. They want to recreate Haryana in Goa,” Sardesai added.
Subsequent to his comments, the state Tourism Minister Manohar “Babu” Ajgaonkar said that the tourists who come here should respect Goa’s culture or be prepared to be driven away.
“The tourists who come here should take care of Goa's culture and Goanness, otherwise I will chase them away. I will not listen to anyone. I am saying this clearly,” he said.
Goa’s has built a tourism industry over the years for being known as being a hospitable people and easy going lifestyle.
However, the sheer number of tourists who visit the state are often renowned for violating traffic rules, camping in the open and being responsible for the state’s garbage problem.
Earlier the former President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa suggested that Goa had reached its carrying capacity.
“We have already crossed the numbers of our carrying capacity. If anyone is seeking that seven or eight million tourists come here, they are seeking the destruction of Goa,” Bragança had said.
“At this rate, we will go the way of Costa del Sol in Spain which once upon a time was a sought after tourist destination and now is flat,” he said.
Bragança recommended that the state preserve the local “Goanness” in a bid to draw the right kind of tourists.
“The Goan experience is not there. You could be standing in Bangkok or in Istanbul and experiencing the same thing,” Bragança added.
“How is it Goan if tourists in the State are ringing in Christmas with 'Bhangra' music?” he asked.
His comments were made back in 2016.