Triple face-off shadows start of Goa tourism season

Taxi drivers have been up in arms because of the presence of cab aggregators, and the government of Goa is in a fix, with some in the ruling party clenching their fists in support of the drivers and others punching the air for fair app-based taxi service. The skirmish continues…

Shacks are set to be up soon, and just as the process begins, shack owners have sought an extension to the payment deadline so that those who were unable to secure licenses last season can make the payments.

Locals in the coastal belt, where music is played beyond the decibels permitted by the Supreme Court, have been protesting and the government says that some leeway has to be given to outsiders running businesses in Goa – obviously by breaking the law.

Taxis, shacks and loud music are three sides of the multi-faceted tourism industry of Goa, and the manner in which these three sides are coated, it does appear that the sculptor of the industry does not know which side to turn to first.

A majority of Indian tourists spoken to, think taxi drivers are a rip-off in Goa, and hence seek app-based taxis as the best option, and not the next best.

Many foreigners don’t mind the existing system, though some are open to the idea of an app-based taxi system. It boils down to who does not mind paying a bit more, and not how much one should take.

The taxi imbroglio looks difficult to resolve, especially as there is a political angle lent to it by the taxi drivers, and political juice sucked from it by local politicos who go by the adage of ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’, as long as it suits them, least concerned about the industry or the people who can continue their walk of uncertainty.

The second face-off is that of people who run shacks. And here again, it is the government that is the major stakeholder of the industry. There have been times and seasons when the two could not eye to eye, thus leaving tourists without one of their favourite eating places on the beach.

Shacks became operational almost at the end of the peak season in December last, and whilst most tourists, who had come early went away unhappy with no shacks in sight, those who came late, made the best though many shack owners were disgruntled with the short time left at their disposal.

The third face-off is of the locals who have been crying for a long while due to lack of sleep because of the loud music played all night – and sometimes day and night – along parts of the coastal belt in the north.

Here, the government conveniently steps in to advocate the need for loud music to sustain tourism, not realising they are advocating tourism run by outsiders for whom, the rights of locals be damned.

Through their exercise, the government exposed how dimly they view the locals and even worse, rubbished the law of the Supreme Court.

Tourism, as an industry, has seen its scales swing all over the world with people sacrificing for a bit of the pie, and it has seen societal changes, but not the type that has eroded identity.

Change is best when people unite to decide what is best for them, and this is not happening in this tiny State of ours. Tourism has split society and keeps splitting it with money being the weapon that is tearing the ‘caring is sharing’ ethos of our land.

Goa was found to be beautiful because we cared, and it is from here that our hospitality stems and that is why we are so different from others. That strand is slowly disappearing.

Taxi drivers are fighting because of money; shacks today are covered with a tarpaulin of money; and locals cannot get sleep because ill-gotten money enjoyed by others is too loud.

It has been money, money, money for many years now, and in the bargain, the human in us has run away and we find ourselves naked, just like the emperor with no clothes. Let us go back to our tailor of yesteryears and weave a new robe.