Today is World Heritage Day, and the theme this year is ‘Discover and experience diversity’. Well, I did discover something, even before this day and that is what this little piece is going to be about.
A trip to North India last month turned into an eye-opener as to the management of heritage monuments for tourism purposes as against the systems that operate in Goa.
New Delhi has far more world heritage monuments than Goa. The latter has just the complex of churches of Old Goa, while Delhi has the Red Fort, the Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb.
For now, let’s not go further than that and talk of the Taj Mahal or Fatehpur Sikri that are just a few hours drive from Delhi.
The contrast in the management of the three Delhi sites for tourism was stark compared to Goa.
The contrast in the management of the three Delhi sites for tourism was stark compared to Goa. It started right from approaching the monuments. A queue system with a ticketing process, and separate entry fees for domestic and foreign tourists was the first.
On purchase of the ticket – a token that has to be returned at the exit, failing which the person is fined Rs 100 – tourists queue up at the entrance of the monument complex, where there is a security check and food items are confiscated, which is practical as it prevents littering within the complex.
From there, the tourists are able to stroll through the complex, click pictures, videos and of course, reels for their social media profiles, as they absorb the heritage and historical significance of the place.
There are guides who may embellish their stories, but it helps to take one round, as you learn more of the structure than you otherwise may.
There are crowds too, at all times of the day, but it is all orderly. Nobody takes liberties, and if anybody strays from the path, the staff is quick to call out their attention.
There are crowds too, at all times of the day, but it is all orderly. Nobody takes liberties, and if anybody strays from the path, the staff is quick to call out their attention.
Agra, and the Taj Mahal, has even better systems. Parking is not allowed near the Taj Mahal complex, so from the parking lot that is a long distance away, one takes an electric buggy up to the gate of the Taj Mahal.
Again, ticketing, security checks and queues follow. This one complex easily receives over a lakh of visitors a day. Yet, there is order, and there is enough security and staff to keep order.
It leaves one wondering why Goa can’t have better management of its heritage sites? Why can’t tourists be charged to enter the World Heritage Complex?
Compare this system to what happens at Old Goa. There is no ticketing system and tourists are able to just stroll into the monuments. There is no security check and no confiscation of items which can lead to littering.
There is no count of the number of people who have visited the heritage site on a particular day.
The tourism management system of the World Heritage Site at Old Goa needs to be upgraded, especially since we are coming up soon to the exposition of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier, which will draw a much larger number of tourists – pilgrims especially – than usual.
The tourism management system of the World Heritage Site at Old Goa needs to be upgraded, especially since we are coming up soon to the exposition of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier, which will draw a much larger number of tourists.
It’s time Goa upped its tourism management to compete with other states.
True, Goa has been receiving awards in tourism, but this World Heritage Day, it is time to take a look at how tourists can be offered a better experience at Old Goa, while simultaneously the State benefits from the increased services and infrastructure.
The state has to realise that it is not just the beaches that are a draw for the tourists.
Goa’s architectural heritage – world heritage and other – is as much of interest to the tourists.
Is there any other reason for the thousands that can be seen at Old Goa on a daily basis? Or, the hundreds that stroll along Fontainhas and Sao Tome furiously clicking pictures?
While that briefly deals with tourism management at the World Heritage Site, one needs to also upgrade the conservation and restoration processes to safeguard these structures.
Four years ago, it had been revealed that water was seeping into the walls of the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
Many suggestions had been proposed, and ASI had undertaken temporary measures to deal with it. What, however, about permanent measures? They, too, need to be taken or else the heritage that has survived for centuries may just disappear in the future.
