Are filth creators going to be the benchmark of tourism?

The year has began on a sour note for the tourism sector in Goa especially with unruly tourists turning into an eye sore on the Goan beaches in the wee hours of the morning. With every year more Indian tourists coming to Goa to ring in the New Year, the shack owners on the beaches don’t see any profit in business but an unnecessary rush that ends up with verbal spats and physical fights, mobile snatching and even robbing of liquor bottles. 

All Goa Shack Owners Welfare Society president Cruz Cardozo says, “Cavelossim had about 50 percent spending tourists while the rest bring their own food to eat and drinks. It was not that bad in the south. However, the images that came out from the north were very bad especially on that particular day. Many foreigners were driven away from the beaches because those beaches are frequented by Indian tourists and foreigners don’t like the behaviour of some Indians who keep ogling at them making them feel uncomfortable. There are many English tourists who I have spoken to who told me that they will not come back to Goa. They would rather go cruising than spend money in Goa. 

They have been coming here for many years and are saying that they see the same things every year and there isnothing to do in Goa compared to other destinations that are cheaper.”

John Lobo from Calangute was the most disturbed with the sights and sounds of the New Year celebrations in his vicinity. “I don’t see any tourists but only hooligans who came to Goa for New Years’ celebrations. There were 2-3 fights near my shack and my neighbouring shacks as well. People got drunk and created a ruckus and the police picked up one of my boys who did nothing.

 The beach was crowded but the business was very slow. Tourism should progress in the right way. Don’t bring rowdy tourists but Goa is drawing them. On New Year’s Eve most of the tourists were walking with alcohol in their hands towards the beach. Drinking is not allowed on beaches and any public places but how many challans have the police issued on any given day? 

Tourists are not only drinking on the beaches, they are also breaking the bottles and littering the place. This is the down side of tourism and no good tourists will come unless there is implementation of the law,” says John who is also the general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS). 

Menino Fernnades from Colva humbly says, “This season and especially in the New Year only domestic tourists came and they were rowdy. There were mobile robbers and even people who robbed bottles from the tables of the guests at the shack. We had a few Russians tourists but they didn’t like the crowd that started coming in. They bring their own bottles to drink and get drunk on the beach and sleep here. We don’t keep our bed anymore in the night. There is no good Indian crowd that is coming in. these were all the people from the borders of the state like Goa- Karwar, Belgaum and Maharashtra that came in just for a night. They are not ready to pay for food and drinks which is not helping us in any way,” he says.

Sebastian D’Souza has been running his shack, Boat Shack for over 36 years in Candolim and is only seeing the decline in tourism over the years. “These are only cheap tourists who don’t give any business at all. This quality of tourists is spoiling the image of Goa and good tourists will not come to the state. There is only quantity but no quality tourism. People are getting drunk and lying down on the beaches in the morning. The government has to introspect and take proper measures. I didn’t see any traffic cops or any cops patrolling the streets. 

The traffic was manageable on this side but the rush started coming in by 10.30pm to 11pm to see the fireworks. Goa is going the same way Pondicherry has gone. Indians know how to behave but authorities are not strict with laws”

It was left to locals to clean up the mess. But the real mess lies in Goa’s failure to have better quality tourists.