Says good infrastructure, better connectivity and improvement in internal transportation will do the trick
Ajit John
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PANJIM: In an interview with the Herald, Francis Braganza, who heads the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) spoke about the tourism industry in Goa, its deficiencies and ways to improve it. Excerpts of the interview.
Herald: What was the number of domestic and international tourists who visited the state this year?
Francis Braganza: Goa received about 3 million tourist of which 5 lakh were international tourists out of which 257000 are international charter tourists.
H: What do you think the state needs to do to increase the numbers of tourists coming to the state?
FB: Increasing the number of tourist is not a solution. We need to improve the quality of tourists.
H: To attract a high end tourist, it will be important to upgrade facilities but given the paucity of land is it possible?
FB: Before we upgrade the facilities we need to finalise the Regional Plan 2021, without which the infrastructure cannot be improved. New facilities and high end hotels cannot be constructed for lack of land designated for these purposes
H: Do you feel the politics of land allocation is an impediment to progress and what steps do you think the administration should pursue to sort out this problem?
FB: It is not politics but NGOs who have a negative attitude to any kind of development which is the greatest hurdle for development. The NGOs only know to say “NO” without providing any solution to the problems they feel are created by tourism. If we want to solve the problems, we need to free ourselves from this negative attitude and find a middle path of sustainable tourism development, which permits development within certain limitations. However all this needs to be given shape in the form of the Regional Plan. It is not politics, but when facing elections, politicians tend to be weary in making any decision that opposes the views held by the NGOs. However in the Goan context, with the BJP getting a thumping majority, the Government is in a strong position to do what it feels is right for the State of Goa and I am sure it will achieve its objectives by proceedings forward with a firm hand.
H: How does one improve the quality of tourists?
FB: We need good infrastructure, greater connectivity to the state, by air, rail and road and an improvement in the internal transportation. Taxis need to be regulated and metered. Efficient and economic public transportation systems from the airports, railway stations and bus stands. Garbage has to be cleared and disposed. Beaches have to be clean. Hinterland tourism has to be encouraged by the growth of farmland tourism. Medical tourism is an option and essentially position Goa as a niche market.
H: What kind of infrastructure do you feel needs to be put in place to attract the more affluent tourist?
FB: We need marinas, golf courses, convention centres, better airports, better railway stations, cruise terminals, jetties on the river circuit, high end entertainment hubs all over Goa, better and wider roads to tourist destinations and up-gradation of existing hotel rooms and construction of new high end hotels. International brands do attract high end tourist and thus also need large tracts of land.
H: Taxi fares in the state are the highest in the country, how do you intend to sort this out and make it commensurate to the distance traveled?
FB: It is correct that taxi fares are high and I think they are the highest in the country. However the solution lies in a multipronged approach to untangle the whole issue. At the moment taxis seem to be the only mode of transportation for the tourist. We need to introduce airport and train station transfers to hotels by coach services as is available all over the world. The tourist needs to have a choice with regards to the mode of transportation. The other problem is the proliferation of the scooter tourist taxis, which are a nuisance on the roads and give rise to accidents besides eating into the business of taxis. The most important solution is the introduction of meters and radio controlled system which allows greater and efficient usage of the taxis giving greater revenue to the taxi drivers as well as better and cleaner service to the tourist.
The other issue is the safety of the tourist which can be easily installed in radio controlled metered taxis. In fact there are various companies providing these gadgets which can be easily installed in the existing tourist taxis, but forming their own co-operatives, as existing in many other cities. This will reduce fares and increase the business of the existing taxi operators.
