Increasingly, Goan tourism has been defined by policy making and planning in ways that defy logic. Reports that two Goa ministers and four BJP legislators had visited at least 20 countries in the last two years costing the state exchequer Rs 6.20 crore have had no further explanations. The tourism department is, perhaps, one of the larger revenue earners of the government. The public are entitled to ask for a cost-benefit report of the massive spending they have incurred. According to media reports from assembly proceedings, the state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar along with Industries Minister Mahadev Naik had travelled to a number of countries to participate in tourism events. Also named in the information provided in the House for traveling at the cost of the exchequer were the names of Deputy Speaker Anant Shet, Goa Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Nilesh Cabral and BJP legislators – Ganesh Gaonkar and Subhash Faldesai. Tourism Minister himself accounted for nearly Rs 3.36 crore for visits to places like Dubai, Edinburgh, Leeds, Los Angeles, New York, and Turkey. And, as the report goes, “The travel agent is yet to submit the Minister’s travel bills for Chicago, USA, Amsterdam and Netherland.” read the reply. So, we are now expected await a new breed of tourists will be the Scots, Turks, and the Americans? Opposition benches were livid. So is the tax-paying public. Rs 22 crore on international and Rs 20 crore on domestic tours since 2012 is no small amount. In just two months, a whopping Rs 8.5 crore was heaped on promotion of state tourism. The government has justified itself by saying that the Centre had approved all foreign tours and travels. Same government, same party – so this is no big deal! Besides who is Delhi to authorize spending of tax payers money in Goa! To cover it all up, Delhi has declared Dilip Parulekar Best Tourism Minister. One wishes we could be the recipient of better hilarity than this! Extravagance is surely not criteria enough to be bestowed an award. Between the centre and the State, this is a case of mutual back scratching.
It is worth mentioning that the government has not included other expenditures splurged in the name of tourism. For example, can the government explain the rationale for appointing an international consultant to develop tourism in Goa? Can the government explain why it sends people to Spain and other countries – not named in the list above- to learn about tourism when, in fact, most Southern countries suffer from severe financial crises and tourism has been one way by which Northern Europe has bought off tourism spaces for its own gain? In point of fact, there is a crisis in tourism in those very countries according to tourism activists.
26 trade fairs and road shows in the last two years are not proof that Goan tourism is doing better- or that the prospects have improved. Most of the countries visited are not going to send tourists to Goa. Instead of this reckless spending, the Tourism planners and policy makers should have, instead, worked at more strategic targets. For one, reclaiming the traditional visitors from UK, for example who have, by and large, chosen to abandon Goa for a variety of reasons including an overflow of Russians and visa costs that are viewed as exorbitant.
Unconfirmed reports – though reliable- have it that in the several Travel Fairs that the Goa government attended, the preparations were poor and that officials were not always present at the premises. They compared Goa’s performance to stalls of other State governments in India where the Tourism Minister was always available on-the-spot to represent and speak for the state.
Minister Parulekar shields these jaunts under the pretext that “we are marketing Goa.” He also justified the presence of at least three government officials accompanying him. Is the public entitled to ask “Why”? What value did they add? He might even want to consider whether Goa needs marketing at all. Congress leader Durgadas Kamat has rightly observed: “Goa is already on the world map and there is no need for world tours. The public is constantly reminded that the State faces a financial crunch. So with what conscience and economic sense does the government launch such ludicrous investments?
George Soros, who once led the world to its biggest stock crash once said: “If investing is entertaining, if you’re having fun, you’re probably not making any money. Good investing is boring.” This is the dictum that the Goan Tourism department seems to have based its plans of jaunts and more jaunts.
Last year, a group of MLAs went on a junket to Brazil spending 89 lakhs. What was that about? No one knows for sure if the money has been returned. It would have been widely reported in the media if the money had been returned. Until the truth is out, we will give the gentlemen involved, and the government, the benefit of doubt. 89 lakhs would have been enough and more to improve local tourism products in at least 5-10 locations.
The point here is simply this: The government is only the custodian of the exchequer; not its portfolio manager. It must put public interest first and have the humility to be transparent and consult with those who may even be its critiques. The essence of democracy is just that. Democracy does not happen when a government does as it pleases with money that is not theirs in the first place.
It’s time to offer some basic instruction to the government. They witnessed a debacle in Tiracol. Just two months ago! That fiasco happened only because the government chose not to listen to the people but relied on their own arrogant and dismissive view that they, the Ministers and MLAs know best! They don’t. They don’t because they are out of touch with the grassroots – the people who are the hosts of Goan tourism. The government is not the host. It is a mere arbitrator. What Goan offers by way of tourism products are part of the ‘commons’. The seas, the hills, the forests, the birds and animals, the turtles, the fauna and flora begin with nature are part of the ‘commons’. Human communities are its protectors and they must put it on display only so long as it is always safe.
If the government would invest in research of the multiple rural-heritage sites, the unique and rich traditions and cultures of the Goan people, rather than traveling the world for jaunts that produce dubious results, they would contribute more usefully to Goan tourism. There are multiple other facets of tourism unique to Goa – nature, wild life, eco-tourism (not in its corrupted commercial sense). All of these can be achieved with small budget spending on research, and support to community based tourism. In the final analysis, tourism must encourage people-to-people encounters.
