Hinterland tourism is slowly taking off and footfalls to waterfalls and other sites are increasing in Goa. In the coming days it should not happen that untrained and unaware people take tourists to the hinterland and untoward incidents occur. Hinterland tours are difficult and are to be conducted by professional teams. The tour operators should be well-versed with the areas, safety measures, environmentally conscious and if a situation arises they should be able to manage unruly crowds, among others. We have seen/read as to how beach tourism activities are many a times carried out without using safety gear. People in troubled waters can be saved or brought ashore but trips to forests and waterbodies are tougher and require meticulous planning by the operators and guides. Hence, the government should mandate registration by tour operators and guides so that there would be accountability and responsibility on their part.
