The conversations – whispered or loud – at the Goa International Travel Mart was that the State needs to do something to increase the number of international tourists, that it is the domestic tourists that have been keeping the wheels of the tourism trade turning.
Nothing new here. Since the State reopened for tourism after the COVID pandemic, this is what has been repeated, but then, it is not enough to only speak, one has to make it happen.
The GITM will, hopefully make it happen, or at the very least will be the starts towards making it happen.
While Goa Tourism has stepped up on the regenerative tourism, sessions at the GITM where professionals from outside Goa sat alongside their Goa counterparts did throw some insights on what can be done or even what should be done.
The focus was on reinventing, and clearly regenerative tourism is a form of reinventing, but that may not be what entices the tourist to Goa.
The focus was on reinventing, and clearly regenerative tourism is a form of reinventing, but that may not be what entices the tourist to Goa.
In one particular session the speaker was quite clear that Goa has to make it easy for the tourists and another added to this saying that the experiences have to be genuine.
Now, here perhaps is where Goa Tourism has faltered over the years, for not always are the experiences for the tourists genuine.
Take for instance the Goan cuisine that is served, especially in the shacks. How authentic is the food? A good move by the government was to make fish curry and rice a must on all menus. But then while bringing authenticity, one also needs to bring in positivity in the people towards tourism.
So, if Goa makes it easy for the tourists, shouldn’t they respond in similar manner. And a speaker brough that up when he said that tourists too should display a sense of responsibility. Nobody in Goa will argue with that.
And a speaker brough that up when he said that tourists too should display a sense of responsibility. Nobody in Goa will argue with that.
If the sessions threw up little nuggets of information, rounds of the exhibition area at the GITM gave glimpses of what hotels, resorts, tour operators have to offer.
Buyers may get enticed, and that is what GITM was meant to be. And in the midst of the exhibition it was heartening to see that at least one stall had local khajem and local sweets on display and for sampling by the delegates.
Ralph de Souza, a former Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president, whose stall had kaddio boddio – which by the way is the only Goan sweet to have GI status – mentioned that they try to make the experiences they curate for the tourists as authentic as possible and that they tie up with the locals.
If the sessions threw up little nuggets of information, rounds of the exhibition area at the GITM gave glimpses of what hotels, resorts, tour operators have to offer.
He went on to explain that on the next day they were taking a group of the delegates to Majorda, the village of the bakers to show them how the Goan bread is made. That’s exactly what Goa Tourism needs!
A particular speaker at a session said that Goa Tourism has had its heydays and that the falling figures of footfalls are a real threat. There cannot be dispute with the latter, but it was very encouraging, especially to the tourism stakeholders, to see the incoming president of the TTAG Jack Sukhija intervene and disagree to some extent.
Sukhija admitted that Goa has lots to improve upon, but was emphatic that tourism will stay on in Goa, asserting clearly of being ‘very positive on that’.
Sukhija admitted that Goa has lots to improve upon, but was emphatic that tourism will stay on in Goa, asserting clearly of being ‘very positive on that’.
If Sukhija can bring that positivity into the industry and not just the association, then things could indeed look up for the industry in Goa.
