WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2024
No, Goa is not and can never be called the casino capital of India, whether officially or by public acclamation. The State has never been known as a mining capital or tourism capital of India. These are the two major industries in the State that have kept the economic wheels turning for decades. Tourism still plays a major role in the State’s economic growth. Why then would Goa be or should Goa be called casino capital of the country? There is no justifiable reason for such a tag and the idea should be nixed before it is taken any further.
Just because the State has permitted legal gambling and has half a dozen offshore casinos with live gaming and some more onshore casinos that are equipped with slot machines and where no live gaming takes place, does not give anybody the right to term the State as the casino capital. In that respect, the Union Tourism Minister’s comments that the people have already declared Goa as the casino capital of India and that the Centre could consider making this official if the State wants it, has not found any acceptance in the State. Even the minister’s own party has not responded to this. For that matter, the State Tourism Minister should have clarified on this immediately, but did not do so.
Admittedly, the Union Minister was responding to a question from the media when this statement was made. Even then, the minister who holds the tourism portfolio, should have been more guarded in his response. He should have known that though casinos have been permitted in the State, Goa and Goans have accepted them with lots of reservations. Despite the casinos being operation for over 15 years, opposition to them has never abated in the State.
Casinos exist in Goa, but that in no way signifies that Goa would want to be known as a land of casinos or a casino capital of the country. It is neither the highest revenue contributor nor the biggest employment generator in the State. It does contribute to both but not to the extent that makes it a major player, and of the lakhs of tourists who visit Goa annually, the percentage that visits the casinos would be very small. Besides, the industry is restricted to the River Mandovi – offshore – and does not have a pan Goa presence or even acceptability. The reason why the live gaming casinos operate in the river is because they have been given offshore licences as there was opposition to them being on the mainland.
People outside Goa may draw conclusions that could lead to this casino capital tag. The fault here lies also with Goa Tourism that has lagged behind on building a robust branding and marketing strategy for the State. The tourism branding of Goa has to be reinvented otherwise this unofficial tag of casino capital will gain currency across the country and it will be that much more difficult for Goa Tourism to shake it off. Goa today may be known for casinos, but a reputation is quite different from being officially designated as a casino capital.
Goa has much more to offer the tourists who come here than casinos. It has the beaches, the heritage, the culture, the identity all that are highly marketable and that in the past years have taken Goa to become an international tourism destination. All these have to be preserved or else the day may come when casino tourism may actually get totally associated with Goa, a label that Goa neither needs nor wants. Unless the tourism administrators wake up to the reality that is facing their branding problem, it will descend into a further disaster than it already is and that has to be avoided.
