Goa credits itself for being the land of sun, sand, sea and unlimited fun -- a paradise where everyone wants to come, forget their worries and leave them behind.
We are fortunate that visitors come, see around and shower their praises on this land of Parshurama, also known as the 'Pearl of the Orient'.
However, this fame has clouded our eyes from seeing the real picture that may not be as rosy as it is made out to be. The picture-perfect postcard called Goa is slowly getting sullied.
Post-Covid saw Goa welcoming domestic tourists in large numbers, outwitting high-spending international visitors.
Unlike foreign tourists, domestic ones come here only for the beaches, booze and sleaze. This has to change, but how?
Post-Covid, the number, or rather the quality of foreign tourists, has gone down, and booze-loving domestic tourists were responsible for creating a bad image of Goa tourism before the few quality international tourists that chose to come here.
If not many, most Indian tourists, especially men who travel in packed cars to get here, come to drink and ogle at the bikini-clad foreigners getting a sun tan on our beaches. Do we need such tourists or is there a mechanism or law to keep them in check?
Certainly, not all domestic tourists who come here indulge in this ogling and drinking business, but the few who do are denting Goa's self-proclaimed image as a high-end tourism destination.
Secondly, the surge of domestic tourists has left some of Goa's beaches in dire need of a proper and professional waste management system. For now, just one agency is learnt to be involved in the clean-up of the State's beaches on a daily basis.
The garbage story doesn't end on the beaches, there is an outpouring of it on the highways and many of the internal roads leading to some of the starred hotels catering to high-end tourists.
Take, for example, an internal road at Siridao in Tiswadi which leads to starred hotels like Bambolim Beach Resort and Grand Hyatt. This scenic road is a classic example where the local panchayat and agencies concerned seem to have shunned their duty and social responsibility.
This road, which is kissed by the sea on one side and dotted with trees on the other for some part, is mired in garbage of all kinds thrown by motorists who find this less-travelled route to be a convenient waste dump.
India has a rich tradition of calling guests god (atithi devo bhava), the maxim that has been used to promote tourism. Let us be honest here and introspect -- do we welcome our guests to a dirty house?
If this wasn't enough, Goa Toursism Department is on a mission to woo the same European tourists who rejected Goa because of its garbage-infested beaches. A lesson not well learned.
The Goa Tourism, now in partnership with Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), India Chapter, is organising its first-ever roadshow across Europe to woo European tourists back again to the sunny State.
The roadshow will start on April 18 from Frankfurt, Zurich, on April 20, Vienna on April 24, and will end in Paris on April 26, 2023. The idea is to project the State as a safe and all-around tourist destination when the house is not in order.
Assuming Europeans decide to trust Goa Tourism and come back to the State, what do we have for them? The answer could be garbage-infested roads, pollution, stray cattle, hawkers on the beaches, touts, etc. The list is endless.
No one will look at how grand your house is but how tidy it is kept. Let us not fool ourselves and make tourism promotion an ego issue. It's time we all pick up the broom and start cleaning our mess. Our guests will certainly feel more welcome in a tidy house.