With Goa simultaneously hosting two high-profile events, the entire state wears a festive look.
While every Exposition has been a cultural and spiritual event for Goa with the fair, musicals, films and art exhibits taking place around the Exposition reminding Goa of its past ethos, it is the novelties added to the existing ones which make the spiritual journey a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the thousands of devotees who will throng the venue at Old Goa.
The XVIII Exposition of the sacred Relics of “Goencho Saib” began on November 21 and will end on January 5, 2025.
As a decennial event, the entire show is nothing short of a pilgrimage for the faithful who will descend on the holy site from distant corners of the world to venerate the relics of the Jesuit saint.
The news that the church authorities expect over 8 million people to visit the state during the 45-day event, surpassing 5.5 million people who visited Goa during the last Exposition in 2014, is indeed gladdening.
Playing host to another annual event that brings together the entertainment industry in all its glitter and splendour in the tiny coastal state from November 20 to 28, the International film Festival of India (IFFI) in its latest avatar is setting a benchmark for inclusivity in cinema.
Contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos, the 55th edition of the festival is an attempt to break barriers and set new standards for accessibility in films.
Now, let us study these events from the tourism perspective and how such mega-events bode well for augmenting the economic growth of the region.
Considering the barrage of negative ‘appraisals’ the state has been garnering for the past few years as a land of vices where local traditions are being sacrificed at the altar of commercialization, a tryst with divinity is no doubt that balm that could help assuage the agony of a listless existence for the state.
Endorsing a style of tourism that has bordered on attaching great importance to leisure activities viewed as money-spinners, albeit without refinement, delicacy or sensitivity, the state has been turning a Nelson’s eye to avenues that are potential revenue grossers and those that could be of profound experience to visitors.
As a significant driver for the state’s economy, the tourism department has been promoting the Exposition at various national and international travel conferences.
Leveraging the spiritual spectacle to boost tourism, stakeholders should be satisfied with the strong promotional strategy for this decennial event which offers a golden opportunity to showcase Goa’s rich religious heritage and enhance earnings for the state.
However, while the state government’s efforts at blending faith and tourism needs to be appreciated; the ‘thrust’ on spiritual tourism that it has been harping upon for quite some time now is yet to evolve into a serious and viable exercise.
In trying to give a fillip to the niche tourism sector which purportedly has a high scope of investment, the tourism department has lacked the fastidiousness in envisaging ways and means to attract investors committed to the cause.
“With a plethora of churches, temples and mosques, and an aura of spiritual tranquillity, Goa is a popular destination for spiritual tourism.”
Yet, do visitors to Goa carry back home fond memories of an enriched spiritual experience! No, it is the beaches and casinos which attract them more, and the weekend rush of tourists from neighbouring states sufficiently substantiate this belief.
Let us now turn our attention to the annual staging of IFFI in Goa “ an event seen as a prelude to the grand Christmas and New Year celebrations in the state!
The film festival is bound to lend a glamorous quotient to the state where it is being hosted.
But should merely basking in the glory of playing host to a scintillating event that can be transformative for aspiring filmmakers and moviegoers alike - and year-after-year at that - be the response of a state that is hard-pressed to justify its tourism potential!
Besides being a permanent venue for IFFI, the contention that Indian films are playing a crucial role in global cinema and are now a pan-world phenomenon demands that the state be ready with the state-of-the-art filmmaking infrastructure to attract production houses to utilize Goa as a filming hub.
Moreover, cine-producers are forever in search of exotic locales for shooting their films.
It is said that Goa is home to many filming locations and a proposed film city. However, there have been genuine attempts to identify and promote the truly mesmerizing natural attributes of the state for film-makers to take an active interest in them!
Much is being said about film-induced tourism in Madhya Pradesh. It is the hot new destination for movie and OTT series shoot. Besides the pristine and alluring locales, it has been MP’s 2020 Film Tourism Policy which has been a game-changer.
“With a film facilitation cell, single-window clearance system, and generous subsidies, Madhya Pradesh has made filming in its region not only easy, but also cost-effective.”
Goa’s ‘association’ with IFFI however has not been all that gratifying considering that the mega-event has hardly fostered its attractiveness for tourism, and thus its economic development,
As an event that is invariably a star-studded one, it is the manner in which it plays out its duration which makes IFFI nothing more than a perfunctory function which is forgotten no sooner the curtains come down on the ‘vibrant’ show.
Has the state missed out on the chances to re-establish itself as a genuinely fascinating global tourism destination!
