We need to better acknowledge the sector’s strengths and weaknesses in Goa
A handful of social media influencers created a storm over Goa’s tourism sector. That the Tourism Department reacted strongly and sharply may have only fuelled the controversy. Like a half-filled glass, the situation can be interpreted as either half-empty or half-full. However, in the haste, some interpretations and emphases appear to have gone awry.
The post that triggered it said Goa’s foreign tourists were showing a decline and raised issues of “high prices” and “limited options” for taxis and hotels. It also claimed that Russians and British tourists were opting for Sri Lanka and other destinations instead of Goa, and, likewise, Indian tourists might start “avoiding Goa” due to “exploitation” and rising costs.
Opinions in social media are just that: Opinions. The reaction, together with the mainstream—including the national business press sensing a dogfight here—made this into a far more widely disseminated issue.
Of course, anyone visiting Goa as a tourist would term taxis and hotels in the state as “costly” after price comparisons with other tourist destinations. When seen from a local perspective, though, the challenges faced in India’s first beach tourism destination, however, appear very different.
Goa has long been struggling with a highly seasonal tourism sector; the anticipated year-end rush is overwhelming. Despite intentions of taking tourism to the hinterland, it remains concentrated in (mostly coastal) pockets. The experience of places like Fontainhas and the ‘Dear Zindagi’ coconut-tree-lined road in Parra are extreme examples of too many visitors. Goa’s scattered geography and the lack of return-taxi fares have given transport a bad name and pinched tourists’ pockets as well. So far, no tech fix has been found for this. Even the number of buses connecting to the airport is few and far between. Over-competition in some areas—including from-home stays sold via online marketplaces—has not helped those in the business, even if they offer more choices. Tourists don’t face an entry tax but complain about the cost of the Goa product. Overall inflationary trends in Goa, in part due to tourism itself, ironically make the pinch even harder.
Added to this, there are other issues faced here: The growing number of small and other entrepreneurs chasing the tourism pie, outstation players entering the market, foreign tourism arrivals being dependent on so many factors (including a war in Russia), an intense pandemic and demonetisation-created turbulence, policy and regulatory challenges, hyper-dependence on a highly seasonal product, and even governance issues.
Understandably, the tourist would like to access Goan tourism at a better price. But local entrepreneurs expect the benefit of the industry should also go to small and other local players. In the midst of this tug-of-war, how legit are the claims and expectations of either side? The decline in foreign tourism arrivals is easy to verify, both from well-maintained airport or port statistics or even from hotels.
At the end of the day, we need to better acknowledge Goa’s tourism strengths and weaknesses. Knee-jerk responses to microblogging bytes could help nobody. Finally, the interests of all stakeholders need to be kept in mind while addressing an issue in which people have a stake. A lot of discussion had taken place in the last assembly session on issues concerning the tourism sector, including the inflow of tourists. The question is: To what extent has the government tried to make Goa sustainable for tourism?
This post was originally published on here
