Budget benefits

Central schemes will help boost tourism in Goa; however, mass tourism must be avoided

During his two-day visit to Goa this week, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said  the Union budget 2025-26 will benefit Goa in several sectors, especially tourism, fisheries, and pharma.

Regarding tourism, Prasada also said that streamlining of e-visa facilities, redevelopment of beaches, eco-tourism and heritage sites under PPP (public private participation), and expansion of cruise tourism, as envisaged in the budget, will boost tourism in Goa.

Goa cannot do much on its own to create infrastructure for tourism. The state is dependent on the Centre for funds, and, over the past few years, it has availed itself of several central schemes for tourism-related projects and activities. Hence, the state will look forward, and rightly so, to gaining  maximum from the Union budget proposals. With foreign arrivals on the lower side, the central government’s efforts to streamline the e-visa facility are expected to help Goa get more footfalls.

The state government has already announced some new projects. One being the Town Square in Porvorim, a new concept that is bound to get much traction once completed. The Centre has, under its Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), sanctioned nearly Rs 100 crore each for the Town Square project and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum in Farmagudi-Ponda. Some new initiatives may also be in the offing. While all this is fine, what is also needed is transparency.

The tourism sector cannot remain static. New initiatives are important, and the show must go on. The department is showing innovation. Over the past two years, the government has rightly been pushing the ‘beyond the beaches’ narrative. Tourists looking to spend some days in Goa need to have some other options other than visiting beaches. No doubt, over the years, ecotourism, or what is known as hinterland tourism, has been promoted, but it has not been impactful. Post-Covid, with tourists as well as locals exploring new sites, including waterfalls, there is a huge demand for “unexplored” sites and heritage spots in remote parts of the state. It is said tourists come for cheap liquor, but there is a big section that is interested in Goa’s hinterlands. For this, it is important to preserve greenery, without which it could turn to ‘back to the beaches’ tourism. We cannot be complacent saying Goa has more than 60 per cent  green cover. Technically, this may be true. Goa is blessed with incredible natural beauty.  But the present lot of politicians doesn’t seem to have contributed an inch towards this asset. It is thanks to many people Goa still has a green landscape. One of them is then governor Lt Gen (Retd) JFR Jacob, during President’s rule in 1999, who, along with some bureaucrats such as then principal chief conservator of forest Richard D’Souza, got the Mhadei and Netravali wildlife sanctuaries (which are more than 200 sq km each) notified.

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has announced plans for ghat aartis on the banks of Narve similar to the Ganga aarti experience. This could be a turning point for spiritual tourism in Goa. Some time ago, the tourism department launched the Ekadash Tirth Circuit, a religious tourism initiative that includes 11 sacred temples in the state, to promote spiritual tourism. These new initiatives sound good, but what is needed is proper management. Not just regulations. Locals and small entrepreneurs must benefit from them. Care will have to be taken to avoid mass tourism in the hinterlands or even for spiritual tourism. Mass tourism will kill the golden goose.