Since 2012, I have spent a majority of my time in Goa. As a resident, I get asked a standard question when anyone I know wants to visit Goa – “What are the main things to see and do in Goa?”
The immediate answer that secretly comes to my mind is – Nothing. Now please don’t be shocked, that’s not what I tell them, it’s the thought that comes to my mind. Let me explain. While Goa Tourism promotes a number of destinations and attractions, to me personally, tourism is about creating lifetime memories via memorable experiences. It’s not about the destination, it’s about one’s experience at that destination which makes or breaks the visitor’s vacation.
Sadly, Goa fails miserably in this department as a majority of tourist visitors go back with horror stories about their experiences in Goa, and it’s not just the fault of the taxiassociations. Weather it’s poor transport infrastructure, lack of facilities, garbage everywhere, lack of options when it comes to tourism experiences or just bad planning, the average visitor does not return with happy memories and hence does not recommend Goa to his social circle which results in a steady decline in tourism arrivals, as Goa has started to experience.
Enough said about this, as Goa has no shortage of critics and I really don’t wish to join that not so exclusive club. I mention these points to draw your attention to my main point – in every adversity, there lies many opportunities. As a consummate entrepreneur, the current adversity can give rise to a number of start-up opportunities just waiting to be launched.
One of the areas that Goa is really known for the world over is food. I am not referring to the food offered in the vast number of restaurants that exist in Goa that mainly cater to tourists but local food that are favourites with Goans. Food always evokes an emotional reaction and having a memorable meal has the power to create a lifetime memory. Visitors who come to Goa are always looking for opportunities to sample some of vast variety of food on offer, not just in restaurants but also street food snacks and baked goods available in villages.
Unfortunately, they just don’t know where to eat and how to get there as local transport can be a challenge. There are many opportunities in this area which can be tapped by entrepreneurs and new start-up founders, ideally by the new generation of Goanswho show an interest in food and hospitality. Here are a few start-up ideas to tap intoGoa’s food creations.
1. The Great Goan Sausage: It’s time someone offers this Portuguese era treat to the world in a hygienic branded pack. If Canada and Norway have their smoked salmon, why can’t Goa have its Sausage? All it takes is an enterprising Goan entrepreneur to source the sausage from an authentic source that still makes it the old traditional way using the best ingredients, vacuum pack it and brand it “The Great Goan Sausage”. Do feel free to print a sausage pulao recipe at the back. Now all one needs to do is set-up a small kiosk in certain tourist hotspots as well as the airport and railway stations and we have a potential winner. Very soon tourists will be taking back a pack of Goan sausages along with their bottle of feni or port wine and cashews, all of whom would make an excellent group at any gatheringanywhere in the world as the true tastes of Goa.
2. The Goan Farm to Table Tour: People are always confused about what really is Goan food? Is it the fish curry rice which is a traditional dish made by Goans of Hindu origin or is the chicken xacuti, which is made by Goan Catholics of Portuguese origin. As you all know, the answer is both and it’s time for an entrepreneur to showcase these differences to the visiting public by making them experience a taste of both sides. A daily tour in which visitors can visit a spice farm where the spices are grown, to a processing facility where they are ground and packaged to a traditional Goan home where they are used to prepare the tasty Goan dishes to the dining table where they can be sampled and enjoyed. A food tour that gives the visitor a complete farm to table experience of both the Hindu and Portuguese sides of authentic Goan cuisine. All one needs is a branded minibus with marketing tie-ups with all the hotels as well as Goa Tourism kiosks and very soon these tours will start to sell out.
3. River fishing Expeditions: River fishing is one of the oldest and most traditional ways of fishing for locals and it is also a golden tourism opportunity. A small batch of visitors can be taken on a fishing trip in small boats or canoes where they are taught how to fish in the traditional ways. They can also be educated on the types of fish that exist in Goan rivers. Once they have caught a few fish, they can bring their catch to the shore where it is cooked and served to them in a restaurant located on the river itself thus creating a unique memorable experience for them. The tour can be branded and marketed through Goa Tourism and other tour points.
4. The Mushroom Tour: Goans take the mushroom for granted and not many Goans are aware that Goa is known as the mushroom capital of India. That’s right, the Goan mushroom travels all over the country and is sold at a premium. The same mushroom packet that you buy in the local market for 40 rupees command a price of over 100 rupees outside Goa and even higher in big cities. The mushroom is regarded as a premium delicacy and visitors would love to see where and how the mushroom is cultivated, grown, packaged and sold. The tour could include showing the cultivation of the different types of mushrooms (White button, Portabello, Brown, Oyster and Shiitake), all of which are grown in Goa. One can go a step further and hold a cooking class to teach visitors traditional Goanmushroom dishes, thus making it a memorable experience.
5. The Traditional Tastes tour: Just like the mushroom tour, one can offer a tour that showcases the manufacturing of two of Goa’s iconic foods, the pav (poi) and the pickles. These foods are world famous and visitors to Goa take them back when they depart. There would be a lot of interest in learning how these are made, especially the traditional way. Nationally and globally there is a renewed interest in baking and preparing certain foods in the old traditional manner and this experience taps right into this current trend. Visitors can visit these facilities and learn how Goan breads are baked and pickles are mixed and aged. One can even sell prepared kits with all the necessary ingredients which visitors can take back home and try to bake the pav themselves or mix and age the ingredients that make the final pickle thus allowing them to recreate the memory.
6. Street Delicacies of Goa: Goa has some very unique street foods on offer, mostly sold in small local village bakeries and on carts or garras as they are popularly known. The top Goan street foods are Chorizo Pav, Cutlets, Croquettes, Chops and the not to be missed Ras Omelette. Visitors would love to not only taste these foods at some of the most famous locations across Goa but they would also be very interested in learning how they are made so that they could go home and try them out themselves to relive their Goan food memories. Once again, there is an opportunity to offer them complete kits with all the ingredients which they can simply put together and cook for themselves in their own kitchen.
7. Cooking classes for Tourists: Imagine the opportunity for a tourist to attend a half day class where they are taught to prepare a complete three course Goan meal. How about learning to cook rava fry fish, followed by fish curry rice and ending with a bebinca. They can also learn to cook a three course meal where they make a sausage chill fry, followed by a chicken xacuti with pav and ending with a Goan style caramel custard. Once can make a recording of the entire class with them cooking in it and they get to take home a memorable experience which they can share with family and friends.
Food has always been a means to bring people together and experiencing how to cook and sample the tastes of the vast variety of Goan food on offer will create many memorable experiences and let the visitor take back a lifetime of memories. The time is right for Goan entrepreneurs to launch small and unique start-ups in the tourism sector with a focus on food to tap into this hidden potential. Bon Appetite.
