September 22, 2024 was no regular Sunday. The tickets for the highly anticipated Coldplay concert were finally up for grabs, and in Goa too the craze was just as high as in the rest of the country.
Seated in the glow of the laptop screen, the constant buzzing of the phone nearby added to the thrill as coordinating with friends about the purchase was a given, after all who attends a music concert alone.
But soon, excitement turned to frustration and then came disappointment. Staring at the screen that read ‘10,839 people ahead of you’, we watched how the tickets were slowly slipping out of our fingers with each tick on the clock.
And for a moment the realisation hit, too personally this time, that just like us everyone out there was in pursuit of the same thing. Everyone wanted the same experience, to be part of an electrifying ambience, surrounded by that contagious energy.
Everyone wanted the same experience, to be part of an electrifying ambience, surrounded by that contagious energy.
We ended up being among the lot who had to forfeit our chance to see Chris Martins sing Fix You live, yet one thought flashed through my mind and never left. If there’s so much demand for experiences such as these, why is celebrating music in such an enjoyable way, perhaps the way it should be enjoyed, such a rarity?
And then it struck me. Can music be that trump card Goa takes out from its stash to retain its losing tourists? How come Goa, that’s always in search of high-end tourists, never looked into the potential of music tourism?
Travel today no longer purposes to a break or escape from a place, rather going on a journey today is almost done with the intention of falling for a new place. But can Goa still retain its charm and be fallen for, given that her contenders have much more on offer?
The internet describes music tourism as travel that’s centred around music experiences where travel destinations give tourists a taste of their local tunes and culture. It can be based on particular genres or in any form i.e. through concerts and festivals, workshops, lectures even masterclasses.
We just got to witness such influx of music enthusiasts and travellers to the recently held India’s biggest outdoor music festival aka the ‘Ziro Festival’, a four-day musical extravaganza in Arunachal Pradesh. Started in 2012, over the years the festival has not just given independent music artistes a platform but has even promoted indigenous tribes of the region.
Likewise, can Goa and its community benefit by going that extra mile to take travellers on a musical voyage? The answer lies in giving it a shot. But none can deny that apart from giving the economy a boost, a focus on musical tourism will pin Goa on the world map.
Can Goa and its community benefit by going that extra mile to take travellers on a musical voyage?
Moreover, it will not just give the many talented Goan musicians opportunities to perform and showcase their learnings and art, it will also help conserve many traditional musical forms.
What already works in Goa’s favour to fully unlock such a form of tourism is its favourable weather all year, the infrastructure and most importantly it’s already existing music scene.
Be it the soulful Monte Music festival that had brought together Western and Indian classic musicians or the EDM festival, Sunburn, that over the years have gained popularity among the youth. With the presence of these intimate concerts and local festivals, laying a foundation for music tourism will be an easy affair for Goa.
After all, music runs in the blood of us Goans and if explored with the right intent, we will be equally enthusiastic about fostering this idea. If there’s a demand, it only makes sense to invest in it. Maybe it's time to strike the right notes!