It’s time to revisit Goa’s myopic tourism policy

In an article titled ‘We shouldn’t be blaming the Indian tourist alone for Goa’s troubles’ published in the Wire — an Indian news portal — on August 6, writer Samir Nazareth accuses Goans of “playing the victim card”, arguing that the tourism quagmire that Goans find themselves in is of their own making. He advises Goans to stop blaming the domestic tourist for their problems.

I grew up in my mother’s ancestral house in Curtorim — a verdant village in south Goa — and am quite sure that the average Goan, especially us villagers, has no axe to grind or fish to fry as far as tourism is concerned. We are only concerned with preserving our goenkarponn (the Goan way of life), which is steeped in tradition but open to new ideas. Let me make it clear that the only kind of tourist that is unwelcome is one who believes that Goa is a place to indulge in debauchery fuelled by cheap alcohol.

How is a Goan supposed to react to groups of tourists who drive in from neighbouring states carrying cooking gas, park on the side of a road, set up a makeshift kitchen, eat, drink and make merry, and then leave a trail of garbage in their wake? In May this year, a local girl was gangraped on a beach by three youths from Madhya Pradesh, all of whom had a criminal background. Did Goans go around lynching tourists? According to Goa Police statistics, rape cases in Goa increased from 62 in 2016 to 70 last year. There were 174 burglaries, including in villages. During my childhood, the biggest crime in villages was someone stealing a few coconuts or mangoes from an orchard!

Goa is India’s smallest state by area (3,702 square km). According to the 2011 Census, it was the fourth smallest state by population (around 1.48 million). Goa received 7.78 million tourists in 2017, according to www.goatourism.gov.in, which comprised 6.89 million Indians and 890,459 foreigners. This was a 22.98 per cent growth over 2016. Goa has the largest urban population among India’s small states. The 2011 Census reveals that more than 62 per cent of the population resided in urban areas and about 38 per cent in rural areas. The urban population increased 35.23 per cent while the rural population declined 18.52 per cent. This is indeed a sea change from the 1961 Census when 85 per cent lived in rural areas and 15 per cent in urban areas.

The density of population tells an interesting story. It increased from 364 persons per square km in 2001 to 394 in 2011. Mormugao taluka, which is home to the airport, port and a railway station, recorded the highest density at 1,416, followed by Salcete at 1,005, Bardez at 899 and Tiswadi at 830. Salcete in south Goa, and Bardez and Tiswadi in the north, are tourist hotspots. Between them, they house most of the 3,475 hotels in Goa. Just 78 people share a square km of land in Sanguem. Why? Tourism and its allied activities have not made inroads there.

In his well-researched article, Nazareth observes that “not only are Goans selling, converting or renting their old houses, but land too is being converted for commercial and residential purposes”. This blanket statement does injustice to the Goans painstakingly preserving their ancestral homes. Walk through a village, especially in the talukas of Salcete and Bardez, to see how colonial-era mansions have weathered the ravages of time. Some enterprising owners have transformed part of their houses into home stays, heritage homes, or restaurants while others work abroad to maintain their ancestral homes. Not everyone succumbs to the guile of builders.

The real Goa lives in its villages far from the urban mess and coastline dotted with five-star hotels. There is more to Goa than casinos and drug-fuelled rave parties. I wish the tourist does a little research and visits places like the Ancestral Goa Museum, which is a miniature Goan village that recreates rural life of yore. Go to Goa Chitra, an ethnographic museum showcasing traditional Goan farming implements and other antiques. Walk around the little alleys of Fontainhas, the old Latin quarter in Panaji. Make a trip to the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, an estuarine mangrove habitat located on the island of Chorao along the Mandovi river. Explore the centuries-old temples and churches. I believe that a change in tourist mentality will break the vicious demand-supply cycle currently at play.

I wish that the Incredible India international tourism campaign started by the Government of India in 2002 packages Goa as wellness and heritage destination. India’s Roads, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that he expects 950 cruise vessels to enter Goa in the next five years. With the literacy rate at 88.70 per cent and the Goan’s comfort with spoken English, I see this as a great employment opportunity. If a proper structure is established, I’m sure Goans working in the hospitality sector on cruise liners and abroad will be happy to utilise their skills at home.

I’m sick of Goa being stereotyped as a tourist paradise where Goans (not Goanese!) lie on the beach content with their feni (a local alcoholic drink) and fish-curry rice. Not all Goans are obtaining a Portuguese passport and migrating to Europe for good. Blaming Goans for the socio-economic tensions created by corrupt governance and crony capitalism is a flawed reasoning. By the same logic, should we target migrant workers who seek a livelihood in Goa because their state governments are busy playing politics over religion?

Goans are today engaged in a fierce battle with their self-serving elected representatives. Since achieving full statehood in 1987, Goa has had 10 different chief ministers and President’s Rule thrice. An old Turkish proverb sums up the sad state of affairs: The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe because the handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of them.

This disillusionment has led to the emergence of citizen movements comprising environmental activists, academicians, lawyers, doctors and students. These groups are spreading awareness and preventing land sharks from running riot in villages, even going to court if necessary. It’s a welcome sign that an educated and aspirational populace has finally decided to stand up for its rights. The battle, however, has just started.

Goa has the highest per capita income in India at Rs366,632 (around Dh20,400), but not all Goans are living comfortably. There are those who travel in increasing crowded public buses, not cars. They don’t get to post pictures of themselves eating in fancy restaurants, and they can’t afford to educate their children in private schools. They now find themselves competing for scarce resources with migrants from poorer states that began flooding into Goa since the Konkan Railway came along in 1998. If such people choose to migrate overseas for better opportunities I don’t think I can judge them.

As he concludes his article, the writer wonders if the “much-vaunted susegado approach of the Goan cloaks a desire to make hay at all times?” First of all, the word ‘susegado’ is derived from the Portuguese word ‘sossegado’, which means ‘peace and calm’. Old-timers tell me that the word signified a contented existence based on doing your best with what you had. Today it is happily misinterpreted as ‘laidback and lazy’ to condone all kinds of tomfoolery. Secondly, nothing is cloaked; the gaping wounds left by some Goans choosing to abandon the old ways for easy money are there for all to see.

The truth is, Goa has been welcoming to all. And many tourists, both domestic and foreign, have felt comfortable enough to make it home. It would be nice if the high and mighty from the rest of India stopped treating Goa as a sin city and joined forces with Goans working to protect their beautiful state’s rich culture and ethos.