The new season is around the horizon and Russian and British charter operators have expressed an interest in flying down tourists to Goa. Now with the virus still shadowing everyone will this mean Goa will now be open to responsible tourism? Goa has been the poster boy for excess. Drug laced parties, littering, fights on the roads are quite common during the season.
Padma Kumar Nair, Hotelier and VP Goa small and medium hotels association said much needed to be done for responsible tourism to become a reality in the state. He said “Let’s start with social distancing, once one is in a party everything is forgotten. I am very clear the rave parties have to be stopped. It will only spread the virus. Restaurants have to follow the sops and ensure distance is maintained between customers. One has to only look around in Italy they insisted on masks and the number of cases decreased”. He added that each and every international tourist coming into the country would have to follow the protocols as prescribed by the authorities. He hoped that charter operators inform every one of the protocols involved. He ended by saying this was the best opportunity for the state to move in a new direction.
The importance of following the sops was emphasized by Saurabh Khanna GM of a five-star property in the Northern coastal belt who felt it would have to be the norm till a vaccine was found. He said “We have to practice responsible tourism. I have been out and about and yes most of the restaurants are following the sops. I think it will be at night when we will have to be careful especially in all the nightspots” He said no compromises ought to be made to indulge international tourists in terms of the protocol s because they would follow it in their home country. Responsible tourism he said was certainly a goal to drive too and this virus was a fine opportunity.
Elvy Furtado another hotelier felt it was high time to reclaim the reputation of Goa. He said “The problem now is the kind of people coming is so different from the disciplined Europeans and others who come on charter flights. We are losing our identity and responsible tourism is the way forward. It is the only way forward.”
Ricardo Rebelo, an important stakeholder in Goan causes and an owner of a popular Café in Candolim, the heart of the tourist belt said it was very important now to shift towards family tourism and move away from the beach drugs and prostitution package which had made Goa the vice capital of the country.
Manek Contractor who ran a successful restaurant for years and has now gone back to his first love of building boats said to provide that kind of tourism it would be important to provide a certain standard of service otherwise it would turn out to be a problem. He said, “We need to start an education program for people to understand the tourist here is someone and we are here to ensure he or she has a memorable time”. The days of thinking of them as someone to be milked dry and that Goa was the very best are now gone.
Rajesh Khanna who used to run a hotel in Goa felt it was important to remove the focus from mass tourism to a more sustainable level which has minimal negative impacts on the ecology of the region and in fact promote tourism that promotes a healthier environment directly/ indirectly. Promote food & culture of the region and encourage indigenous products n services besides setting up farmer’s markets and artisan’s hubs. Encourage adventure sports n outdoor activities which depend more on natural n manual processes instead of over-dependence on mechanised sports n activities.
But we leave it to a tourism veteran to have a take with a twist. Savio Messias former President TTAG wants the charter tourists to come in and have some peace and quiet because they “do not bring COVID”. As for the tourism business, he said, “Without the charters coming in, restaurants in certain villages in Goa are packed with people waiting in long lines. They are doing very well with domestic and locals visiting them. So in such a situation why talk about charters. The tourists who come on charters do not visit these popular outlets. They want silence and basically peace”.
The bottom line, therefore, is the need for the paradigm shift in how we conduct tourism and prioritize key areas and the important raceway here is that sustainable and eco-friendly tourism is also ideal in these COVID times.
