The recent endeavour by the Goa Tourism department to bring in quality tourists by introducing helicopter joyrides and short rides to neighbouring places of interest, will serve no useful purpose in boosting the number of high-end tourists to the state. This is borne out by the fact that over the years , it has been found that both foreign and local tourists are tightfisted and unwilling to splurge on expensive hotel stay and unaffordable taxi fares. Much less would they be willing to shell out a whopping Rs 8,000 for a 10-minute joyride of the State, and even more, for a ride to neighbouring places of interest. A grand tour of Goa instead, would have been possible and more enjoyable and affordable, had our taxi fares been reasonable. We seem to have got our priorities wrong by focusing more on raking in the moolah, rather than making tourism attractive and enjoyable by lowering our rates, welcoming one and all, irrespective of being a high-end or low-end tourist. This I believe is the essence of tourism, worldwide.
