It is observed that mass tourism is focused on beach tourism, cruises and casinos which are oriented towards adventure, risk, and thrill seeking groups that enjoy socialisation. We need to introspect if our villages are neglecting the intellectual tourist, who could be a naturalist or someone seeking education regarding the culture and society of Goa. The experience sought here by the tourist is to gain knowledge. Is it possible for all the village panchayats to contribute? Most of the village panchayats are equipped with good infrastructure where in class A – B panchayats may have a library facility where a librarian and an assistant may be employed.
If our government has to increase the scope of heritage tourism an additional room could be provided as a museum where a trained museologist could be employed. Now the question remains as to what can be displayed in a village museum? Every household in Goa has an archive of old artefacts such as an old equipment like a radio, black and white TV, old telephones and many more gadgets that are just given away or sold as scrap, or exchanged for something new.
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Through the display of these the transformation and evolution of technology in Goa can be depicted. In case of cookware, the kind of utensils used around a century ago also can be displayed. There could be many items which are gathering dust in the attic which need conservation and protection. These could be put on display with proper credit given to the donors in form of a register. The museum could be managed through entry fees and also supported by government grants as we are sadly losing on the grants from the central government for lack of innovative employment generating ideas and also in turn not preserving the cultural heritage heirlooms of Goan homes.
