A welcomed, and the monsoons have still not bid goodbye, Goa faces one of its most important challenges, that questions its charm and its capacity to draw the world to its embrace.
Indeed, there has been a amalgamation of international flak over various issues like safety of women, and that of tourists and then there is the much talked about piece in The Guardian “ A idyll no more: Why I’m leaving Goa”. But it is far too early – and also unfair – to write the epitaph of Goa’s tourism, if it has to be written at all.
While the amount of work that needs to be done to change perceptions has to be fathomed, it is equally true that all stakeholders of Goa – and not just of Goa’s tourism – should also do their bit rather than wait with a “ I told you so” expression, as Goa image as a destination gets castigated.
The fact is that there are still many more people coming to Goa for the love of the land, than those who are leaving Goa. And while one should look at the reason why a few are indeed leaving Goa, we should also flag the reasons why people continue to come here. It is important that each of us who love Goa and live here realise that the reasons why Goa’s image is getting battered are to be understood and managed, but the slide is not irreversible.
Secondly, the burden of excess tourism, which accentuates the problem of over construction, narrow roads, filthy beaches and garbage filed streets is not an all Goa phenomenon but is limited to less than 10% of Goa’s space. And this is where the argument of those who have declared Goa tourism dead and are preparing for its burial, get completely skewed. And here’s why.
The state of Goa’s beaches, the lack of universal garbage management and the uncontrolled almost boorish taxi operators – without taking anything away from their seriousness – cannot be the battering ram to bludgeon Goa’s tourism.
There will be an argument that spreading Goa’s tourism to parts of interior Goa in the talukas like Quepem and Sanguem and tapping into the potential hinterland tourism will dump the same problems there. But this can be countered only by genteel inroads into those places, encouraging home stays and farm stays and moving away from the hedonism of parties and night clubs to a quieter Goa existence.
We must also understand that while the death of a foreigner or an incident related to drug overdose in a night club should and will grab the headlines and strengthen the Goa tourism epitaph, Goa is also not about just this. The yoga and meditation centres to across the Chapora river and on the stretch to Arambol, the quiet life lived in villages by those staying here for four to five months, the influx of so many creative people like artists, writers, poets, musicians and other professionals who live here for the quality of life Goa still and will continue to offer, have to be taken into account.
We will be doing great injustice to the relationship this land has with tourists, if we simply, sit back and accept that Goa is not an idyll anymore. For sure this idyll is threatened, and that too in certain pockets, and will intensify if we do not handle the visible manifestations of decay like filth, drugs and rampant constructions.
But to accept that these factors, which are clearly solvable, is the real Goa story, is extremely unfair not to the government of Goa but its people.
And it is we the people who have to correct this.
Yes, there are indeed success stories. From active and dedicated sarpanchas, to spirited individuals like garbage warriors Felly Gomes and Clinton Vaz and other citizens who are cleaning up the beaches, are all doing their bid to rid Goa of the garbage of being stereotyped.
Above all, the relationship Goa’s tourism stakeholders like shack owners, restaurant owners, bartenders and those who have home- stays is very personal and very unique. And as long as this exists Goa will never cease to be an idyll. To the world we still say, “ Welcome Home”.
