For all those who are not from Goa, the mention
of our state brings to mind an image of a happy,
relaxing vacation in the sun-kissed coastal villages.
Goa has long been one of the top favourite tourist
destinations, for tourists across India, and the world.
Every year, we get lakhs of tourists from around the
globe coming to our tiny little state. Tourism is one of
the important sources of income for the locals, and
a major source of revenue for the state. Keeping its
importance in mind, a major chunk of activities and
events in Goa are centred around tourists. However,
the questions that arises here is whether we are doing
enough?
You don’t have to look far for your answer. Think
of the times when you were expecting guests over
to your place. One of the first things you did was
probably tidy up the place before they arrived. This
same thing should apply to visitors to our state.
Infrastructure is one of the gravest concerns around
here, and looking at the way the world is progressing,
it’s mandatory to keep our surroundings up to the
mark in order to attract more tourists to our beautiful
state. “Presently, a lot of improvement is needed as
far as our infrastructure is concerned,” states Atish
Fernandes of First Class Holidays. Cleanliness and
connectivity, he feels, are the two main issues the
authorities should take care of in order to make things
better for the tourists.
“In Margao, the biggest issue the tourists face is
that they don’t know how to get from the bus stand to
the railway station,” says Andrea Noronha from Margao.
“In fact, we have this problem almost everywhere
in Goa. Neither do we have proper signboards that
will help the tourists find directions on their own,
nor a proper public transport system to take them to
the desired destination. Hardly any railway stations
or other tourist spots are well-connected by public
transport. We really need to improve on these fronts
so that mobility is not an issue,” she maintains.
Sunita Kamat from Calangute feels that though
beaches are the tourist hotspots in our state, it’s the
coastal villages that have a major garbage disposal
problem, sometimes arising out of tourist activity
itself. She adds, “If this continues, I don’t think our
beaches will remain tourist favourites for long.”
The unending road-digging works that are going
on practically everywhere in the state too add to
the worries of the visitors. “I have seen tourists
complaining about how difficult and tiring it gets
to travel on the bad roads. Road work is indeed
important. But it’s also important to finish these
quickly, keeping in mind the convenience of the
locals as well as tourists,” opines Caroline Fernandes
from Old Goa.
However, there are many who feel that authorities
are taking steps to make the state more tourist
friendly. “As far as infrastructure is concerned, I feel
that the government is trying to do its best to help the
growth of tourism in Goa. A proof of this is the fact
that today the image of Goa in the eyes of the tourists
has changed. It’s not just a seasonal beach destination
anymore. Several other activities and newer spots
have made our state a destination that can be visited
throughout the year,” expresses RJ/actor Aryan
Khedekar.
What we need now is to “go back to the basics,”
as Atish Fernandes puts it. “We need to keep the
main feature of our tourism – our beaches – clean
and pristine. Also, it’s important to promote our own
culture, heritage, and even our authentic Goan food
in our shacks, restaurants and hotels. I think we need
to go back to what we did best, but now aren’t paying
attention to – Goan hospitality. More Goans should
come back to this industry and see to it that we not
only get a better number of tourists, but also better
profile tourists,” he concludes.
