Goa has won National Tourism Award, but why Goans don’t want national tourists
If you are part of that section of India which has enough disposable income to plan regular domestic travel, and you still haven’t been to Goa, please relax your nerves. You really haven’t missed out on much in life. Rather, you have made a prudent choice. There are better places that should be part of your bucket list — if you have any.
Ignore the friends whose eyes pop out with shock upon hearing that you still haven’t boarded the flight to Goa, or taken a road trip instead.
In any case, Goans don’t want you to visit, not in hordes at least. Goa anxiously looks for the 'tourist season' by which they mean that time of the year when foreigners descend.
The state has won the National Tourism Award (NTA) for the second year in a row but Indian nationals will not feel really invited if they interact with locals in Goa.
From cab drivers to hotel receptionists, almost everyone I met during my maiden visit to Goa brightened up thinking about February and March. Yes, you guessed it right. People with white skin descend in Goa around February and March. Their spirits took a dip the moment they were asked about Indian tourists.
But there is a reason why Goans look forward to videshis and not their fellow countrymen.
Goa’s tourism industry is booming but tourism is also harming Goa — not just ecologically, but also culturally.
People travel for bright mornings and quiet evenings. That is when people are travelling to places other than Goa. Those headed for Goa, or already in Goa, are there to sit and drink by the beachside or in pubs and clubs.
What’s wrong with that?
Those drinking by the beachside, which is a banned practice, ensure they leave their plastic glasses and all other garbage behind on the beach. Of course, drunk people also have a licence to eve-tease women stupid enough to sit next to the waters all alone. They carry the licence to Goa.
Those who grab their glasses in pubs and clubs along the beach do so to a background of Punjabi music blaring from microphones or to men crooning in the name of live music.
These are travellers who don’t go to experience a place — instead, they carry the experience of places they travel from their own hometowns to where they are headed.
Roads in Goa are narrow, which means you need an additional dose of patience while driving around. With a horn at your disposal, along with cars that can be hired on cheap rents, who is bothered about patience. People honk incessantly and indiscreetly blowing to smithereens the hope for peace that you attach with travel plans. And this, mind you, is Goa in off-season.
The man, who drove me around Goa said he doesn’t come out on the roads during New Year when tourists swarm to the state to welcome the New Year. He loses money — but he attaches a greater premium to his peace of mind than money. Respect!
Indian tourists litter wherever they go and show scant regard for local cultures. Yet, they are still welcomed by those in the tourism industry. So, why is Goa so snobbish?
Goa is snobbish because it is flooded with business. Almost everyone in the state can find work in the tourism industry and earn a decent life. This is in stark contrast to India’s beautiful tourist destinations along the Himalayas or even the picturesque Puducherry. None of these places have been commercially exploited to the extent that Goa has been.
This is now the problem Goa faces. Tourism has brought money and employment, but it has also brought ruin. Sea water in Goa is turning dirty because it has become a hub for water sports in the country.
Goa’s gain is now also its pain. Goans are clueless about how to deal with it.
We can, perhaps, contribute by lowering the tourist footfall to allow Goa some room to breathe and be.
But can you survive the peer pressure of being one who hasn’t been to Goa?