Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI)

Whenever the name GOA is spelt out it flickers in the mind a spell of charm and delight immediately arresting sensation. The picturesque landscapes, the sun drenched beaches, the turquoise blue water, the joyful tides, the boundless golden brown sand, the widespread palm groves, the historic monuments, the climatic culinary expertise and above all the hospitality of the State has made this ‘Pearl of the Orient” a globally recognized hide away. As the stretches of the pristine sand gets washed by the azure waters, sky is mirrored in the sea below, wind makes its way through the paddy fields, strumming of guitars is heard from the distant with pre-historic churches ringing melodious bells a tired human soul shed of all weariness and being so, it has become a common notion all over, that Goa is promoted as a Tourist destination wooing only Foreign tourists but much contrary to myths and in fact true to our values and ethos, tourism sector in Goa, is concentrating extensively and providing all necessary facilities, to promote Goa to domestic tourists from all over the country and during all seasons.

Besides providing all the necessary facilities for a pleasant, safe and memorable stay in this paradise, the Government has been doing its utmost best to provide besides comfort, safety, to all the visitors who are considered to be the State’s honoured guests. Many will be surprised to know that 90% of visitors visiting Goa as tourists are domestic guests who are lured by Goa’s bounty full of natural reserves, sun fringed beaches, mountains and waterfalls besides the natural forests and fauna. The monsoon seasons ranging from June to September deters nobody as from all perspective, Goa represents life, prosperity and happiness. The season in fact symbolizes duty and romance and Goa gets proliferated in some specific romantic ways. The dried ponds, rivulets, lakes and rivers gets sustained through rainwater thus displaying more vibrancy.

Keeping this in mind and to augment and provide better facilities to the domestic tourists, Dept of Tourism, Govt of Goa, has come up with various innovative and novel ideas for a safe and comfortable stay for the tourists and to name a few, we have ‘The Integrated Beach Safety. It has been seen that many of the domestic tourists fascinated by the blue waters of the Goan beaches, take a plunge into the sea without being aware of what awaits them. Experience has shown that most of them have never seen water before and have been risking their lives on the self assurance of a pleasurable dip which in most cases have resulted in fatal deaths. Statistics have revealed deaths to a tune of around 70-80 persons in every    tourist season thus bringing disaster in the families of the visitors for having lost their near and dear ones. Pleasure trips of many have turned suddenly into nightmares leaving them dead and forever into an experience of a ghastly holiday.

The above safety management program therefore is concisely elaborated to to provide not just safety to the tourists but also provide complete security to the honoured guests. To achieve this goal, the department of Tourism, Govt of Goa, has engaged an agency which will be setting up on turnkey basis, a state of art safety cum security module in place, on the  Goan  beaches. The  salient features of this scheme would be well trained lifeguards, well trained security personnel on the beaches, modern water-crafts, modern communication gadgets, 24 hour electronic surveillance,  etc. It would not be wrong to call this scheme, one of its kind in the whole country.

Goa as a tourist State has definitely a widespread edge over the rest of the country. The superlative culture of the people of the State where different people of varying religions, creed and castle blended into one without any difference whatsoever, attributes to a sense of oneness never seen in any part of India. Besides this the heritage of the State with its multifaceted approach and significance can be second to none wherein one visualizes the potential, the good will, the hospitality and the friendly attitude of the people of the State who venture at all time to welcome the visitors with warmth.

This therefore attracts domestic tourists who would like to see for themselves besides the pleasure of life and entertainment, the ambience of Goa, the nature’s bounty set in harmony amongst the people of this State thus enticing the visitors to go back with memories of a harmonious ambience having long lasting effect of elixir on their lives. The Government of Goa taking into account as to how important a domestic  visitor is  to  them,  is striving hard to welcome them through aggressive marketing using various media and its impact on the country. Marketing is done through the electronic media as well as the print media, various road shows, exhibitions, fairs, etc. are organized across various states in India to showcase Goa, its friendly people, the food habits, etc.

At the same time the urge for relaxation therefore should not be misused or abused by our welcomed guests and as it is well known that anything in excess or abused strikes back and it is detrimental to the safety and wellbeing of one’s life. Tourists visiting the State need to develop a sense of responsibility to safeguard their own interest from avarices which may turn detrimental and destroy them altogether. The irresponsible behaviour before plunging into dangerous waters unmindful of what lies ahead of them in total disregard to the instructions set forth before them by the Tourists Guides or Tourist Police or Life guards can prove to be fatal and therefore it becomes extremely necessary and important to obey these. Excessive and abusive use of alcohol probably available reasonably priced in Goa as compared to other States of the Country meant to be consumed with utmost care, so as to maintain a psychological and physical balance should be avoided. This would enable one think, of what is expected from him to enjoy a holiday he or she well deserves in Goa. Several deaths among domestic tourists have also been identified due to reasons of rash and negligent driving, thus endangering not only them but also the lives of people around them.

It is therefore felt necessary that a good and memorable holiday in Goa would mean a responsible and a self contained behaviour obeying all the prescribed norms which are selectively made for the safety and well  being  of  our  guests,  who  we always think need and deserve the best of our hospitality and life time memories of Goa, with endless thirst to come back again and again and enjoy the best part of one’s life in Goa, which no other place would so gratifyingly afford to provide.

However, no government’s efforts become complete if there is no complete cooperation from the stakeholders of the industry. Sadly, some of the stake holders, place their rates at exorbitantly high prices, under the guise of “peak season” , thereby deterring the genuine tourist from visiting this place, and thus tagging the state as an expensive destination. There is no justification for some of the hoteliers charging three to four times the card rate during the so-called “peak season” or an airline operator doubling the fare rate or a bus operator or a taxi operator or a tourist guide charging exorbitantly high rates. The stake holders of the tourism industry must realize that by milking the “tourism cow” too much, we bring a bad name to the state and that the “tourism cow” will die soon. This is an alarming situation and the time has come for the government and all the stake holders of this industry to come together and chip in to make this destination more and more affordable, so that the bad publicity that the state may get as an expensive destination is corrected. On the part of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, we have already dropped the rates by 20% during the season to lead the way. Thus, we should all work together to attract more tourists from all over the country and overseas, thus leaving no visitor from choosing an alternative tourist destination, leaving Goa aside.

Lyndon S.C. Monteiro
— The author is the Vice Chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation.