Nilesh Borde
Tourism is a labour-intensive industry that can create employment and self-employment opportunities. It is an industry which is vital for Goa. The reasons are simple: apart from nature being kind in bestowing the choicest natural beauty, the state is in sync with human resources available and required. The gap between the demand and supply of the labour force needed is minimal because the tourism industry needs people who are hospitable and fluent in English and a few foreign languages, which is a forte of Goans. It needs people in areas such as HORECA (hotels, restaurants and cafes), transport, travel management, tourist guiding, entertainment and artists for hotels, boats, cruises, etc.
There is a multiplier effect in the form of opportunities in provisions supply, construction (hotels and stay and HORECAs), interior designing, pharmacies, and the list goes on.
It is also essential to understand that the Goan workforce can happily contribute in most of the sectors mentioned above; the sectors throw up entrepreneurial opportunities for the Goans to grab.
The advantages should make tourism the focus of Goa’s economic development, around which all governmental policies must evolve. The government and its agencies must now try to weave its policy around the development of sustainable tourism. But alas! The government has lost the point and is making ad hoc decisions. This is detrimental to tourism, economic development and sustainability.
For her PhD thesis, Dr Surabhi Gore, Assistant Professor, Rosary College of Arts & Commerce, Navelim interviewed several businesspeople, officials and bureaucrats to identify the strategies implemented for tourism development since the Liberation. It was interesting to note that Goa still depends mainly on the laurels of the past (Portuguese Goa).
“What is so special in Goa that is not there in Sindhudurg or Karwar?,” asked a stalwart of Goan industry who has seen Goa in its pre and post-colonial era.
According to him, the difference was the double-digit economic prosperity, effective law implementation, culture that respected the privacy and natural beauty in its pristine that all, especially the foreign tourists, loved. One of the reasons Goa’a beauty was not exploited was due to an out-of-reach status that Goa had due to income levels in the country, the lack of affordable connectivity by air, sea or road and an infrastructure which did not support the arrival of a large number of tourists. The liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation of 1991 saw economic development led by technology companies, improved rail, road and air connectivity and that too at affordable rates. These factors pushed up the tourist inflow into Goa, which rose to almost 9 million visitors – about 8 million domestic and about 1 million foreign tourists.
The numbers may sound great, but there has been a steady decline in foreign tourist arrivals in general and the quality of these tourists in particular. Despite Goa tom-tomming of being the sought-after international tourist destination, its share In foreign tourist arrivals in the country has been relatively poor, with only about 3.2% of foreign tourist share in the country, which is lesser than a state like Bihar, which gets about 3.8% (India Tourism Statistics 2019). This means Goa may get the largest volume per km of territory but has lost its race to value and quality tourism. Also, big tourist inflows create exaggerated rates for factors of production like land and labour. Instead of taking long-term advantage of the situation, policymakers have taken to moneymaking and lost the way in protecting the tourism industry.
For instance, the real estate industry, which needs to support the tourism sector, starts overpowering it, thus forcing the government to make decisions which are detrimental to tourism –building houses by cutting hills, enhanced floor space index for new constructions and widespread land conversions. These decisions deprive a tourist of lush green vegetation and hills.
There are studies which have maintained that in the quest for a more differentiated tourist experience, authorities sometimes make decisions to allow constructions to come up in natural habitats, which are not conducive for sustainable development of tourism.
When the laws are not well implemented, or there is no backup for replenishing the damage caused by tourism, the result is even more disastrous.
The best example is a promenade built by the government from city market to Goa Marriot. This is not environmentally friendly project. But it has come up to provide a great experience to walk by the beautiful Mandovi. The result however is unacceptable: instead of giving tourists a great experience, it has started causing nuisance with open drinking, growth of weeds all around, people riding two-wheelers on the cycling track in front of police, parking at a location where there is a no-parking signage and packs of stray dogs attacking the walkers.
This creates a negative impact on Goa as a tourist destination. This is only an example; such examples can be found at places in the state. Drugs, prostitution and increased crime rates also put off the tourists. Bollywood movies give a wrong portrayal of Goa, which does not augur well for the sector. This is one of the reasons why high-spending foreign tourists are not coming to Goa, which is evident from the government of India statistics. The government must intervene and create better experiences; it should give a new lease of life to the Panaji creek and set up facilities for gondola rides in the waterbody. Instead, the government calls it a ‘nullah’ and allows it to decay.
No motor zones should be earmarked so as to decongest the tourist destinations, allowing people to walk and ride bicycles to get a feel of real Goa. It must protect Goan cuisine vis-à-vis fish. Tourists should be able to taste the ‘real’ Goan cuisine; they should not be given an opportunity to settle for imported fish.
It is quite a task for a tourist to get a real taste of Goan cuisine, especially vegetarian, along any of the main roads of Panaji, Ponda, Mapusa, Vasco and Margao.
It is also quite disheartening to see boats and cruises playing Bollywood or Punjabi pop music to entertain the visitors, instead of the original music of the soil. The other contention is casino tourism. Many studies have shown a negative correlation between the presence of casinos and the quality of tourists visiting the destination. Panaji is probably one of the few capital cities which host so many casinos. The problem is that casinos build up a negative brand image for Goa as a tourism destination. It keeps the high-spending tourist families off the state; this is evident from the crowd we see at various touristic spots. The government should formulate a vision document for Goa, making tourism as its nucleus. What is essential is also exploring other forms of tourism like in the fields of education, medicine, sports, religions, culture, architecture, adventure, as also hinterland or peripheral tourism and experiential tourism.
I will attempt to explain these concepts.
There are certain laws which call for strict and honest implementation so as to attract better tourists. Also needed are strong steps to make tourists more responsible and have a system in place to check irresponsible behaviour so that Goa’s brand value does not get affected.
If we don’t wake up now, in this competitive world, Goa will fast lose its charm and position, and one of the few industries that could usher in Goa-centric economic development will see a painful end.
(Nilesh Borde is a Professor of Finance and Strategy at Goa Business School, Goa University.
The views expressed are personal and not of the university.)
