Eighty per cent of tourists visiting Goa are domestic tourists, yet the biggest chunk of the state’s promotional budget is spent on trying to attract foreign tourists that make up less than 20%, says the report of the task force for Regional Plan 2021. The report submitted to the state government recommends that this budget should go towards augmenting tourism infrastructure in the beach belt area and improving roads, parking, electrification, signage, sanitation and solid waste collection there.
Goa needs a sustainable tourism master plan to be drawn up with micro-level community participation and stakeholder consultations, states the report. The tourism sector today is driven with no clear road map ahead and initiatives for the purpose are taken in spurts and forgotten, says the task force. The report observes that basic strengthening of infrastructural facilities in tourism hot spots is not at all attended to.
The task force states that tourism cannot be seen as a long term economic driver for the state if it is not based on a sustainable model of tourism. It observes that the infrastructure in the tourist belt is inadequate to cater to the over 20 lakh tourists who visit Goa annually. Also, that there is no sewage system for the entire beach belt and not enough toilets, changing rooms and rest rooms along the beach front.
“Roads leading to beach-heads are unplanned, marred with haphazard developments and illegal constructions leaving no scope for a decent driveway nor any semblance of regulated parking,” it says. Lack of policy, sustainable plan, and visionary action has led to multiple activities fighting for survival on the same beach front, says the task force report.
The task force says that rent back rooms cheaply pres old to charter operators furthers Goa’s image as a ‘cheap’ destination. It recommends that the state government should provide economic and fiscal incentives to urge existing entrepreneurs to upgrade their products in the local market, such as restaurants, hotels, vehicles, services, so that Goa is known as ‘a value for money’ destination.
The report states that Goa accounts for nearly 15% of India’s annual foreign exchange earnings to the extent of 1,500 crore and that in 2006 the number of domestic tourists were 21 lakh, while foreign tourists were 3.8 lakh. The task force states that it is clear that the maximum tourist traffic is at the beaches of North Goa in Bardez where the maximum hotels are located. It notes that the entire coastline is affected by tourism today. “All talukas in Goa from Pernem in the North to Canacona in the South show significant tourism accommodation availability.”
A little over two thirds of the available accommodation is of very poor quality, says the report. “Only about one third of hotel rooms available have star ratings. Also a large number of registered tourists stay in ’second homes’ on a regular basis or stay with friends,” notes the task force.
