The peak tourism season is upon us and with it, a tidal wave of tourists, especially along the North Goa coastal belt. The go-to place for most domestic holidaymakers, the beaches along this stretch are packed with frolickers during this time every year, with each hoping to get that perfect selfie or a viral reel that could set their social media handles abuzz.
However, while footfall has been more than made up for, local stakeholders have said that hardly of it translates into business and, consequently, revenue. Most of the restaurants that have mushroomed at Baga, Calangute and Candolim are hardly full at a time when one would expect them to be bustling with business. The same goes with the many hotels and guesthouses that were set up over the years to provide tourists with affordable stays and easy access to the beaches that they make a beeline for.
The conundrum of local entrepreneurs was recently highlighted by former Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes, who went a step further to say that 2024 was the worst tourist season for hotels. A hotelier himself, Fernandes said that one could only see crowds on the roads, but hotels were largely empty. He attributed this to the profile of tourists visiting the area, particularly Candolim, and said that there are no high-end tourists coming in. “These tourists come in jeeps and other vehicles, and I don’t know where they stay. Many arrive in buses, sleep in them, and park the buses on the roads. They go to the beach, use the changing rooms, and then leave. They don’t stay in hotels,” he told the media recently.
Fernandes also said the consequent vehicular density due to domestic tourists driving into Goa from their home states has been crowding roads and causing unnecessary traffic jams.
The former MLA may have a point, but the quality of tourists Goa is receiving also has a lot to do with the tourism infrastructure the state has to offer. Long marketed as the land of sun, sand and surf, Goa has hardly had the amenities to keep up with the volume of tourists, both domestic and international, who decided to come to sample the sunshine state for themselves. If air and bus fares to and from Goa during the peak tourism season don’t already empty the average tourist family’s holiday fund, the exorbitantly high local taxi fares most certainly will. Add to this, the expenditure on food and accommodation and most tourists will have certainly exceeded their vacation budget. Also, local entrepreneurs say that most high-end tourists do not get a bang for their buck when all they see are beaches dotted with litter, serpentine traffic snarls and an uptick in crime and shady businesses.
If the government, which has been participating at numerous international travel marts to project Goa as an idyllic tourist destination really does have the will to attract high quality tourists and make the average domestic tourist family want to spend on their vacation, the least it can do is improve the public transportation system and make it available at every nook and corner in the state at a set frequency. This will almost instantly decrease the dependence on expensive taxis or rental vehicles and will also dissuade tourists from driving to Goa in their own vehicles. As a result, roads will be less congested, and vehicular density can be more easily controlled.
What any tourist looks forward to is a peaceful and enjoyable holiday. To make sure this happens, the government should get stricter and more consistent with law enforcement when it comes to reining in touts and dubious vendors along the coastal belt.
Littering is another thorn in Goa tourism’s side, which is a primary reason why most high-spending tourists prefer to not visit the sunshine state at all. Making bins available every few metres along the coastal belt and ensuring these are regularly emptied is a simple step that will go a long way in resolving the littering issue.
Goa is India’s smallest state and can be a shining example for other states on many fronts when it comes to tourism. But it is up to the powers that be to turn put their noses to the grindstone and work on making Goa a formidable competitor on the world’s holiday map. Small, consistent steps are the way to go.