Foreign footfalls are affected by local, national and global factors
This issue almost never seems to go away; and in a way, that’s understandable. It’s a prism through which much of the rest of the world understands Goa. After bloggers riled Goa by making all kinds of claims about its tourist arrivals, some of which were so obviously wrong, the debate on this topic still continues. This time, it’s the BBC that is looking at Goa’s tourism arrival figures. What it says seems to be closer to the mark, and some of the points it raises might be worthy of discussion here.
The Beeb’s website posits the case that “foreign tourists are falling out of love with Goa”. Unlike the bloggers, whose figures did not quite add up and whose claims seemed to be of the shoot-from-the-hip kind, the latest story going viral in the online world gets its figures right and raises concerns that are hard to ignore. For Goa too.
It argues that while Goa continues to attract huge numbers of Indian tourists, the destination is steadily losing its appeal among foreign visitors, whose numbers have fallen sharply from pre-pandemic highs. The reasons given include rising flight costs after Covid and global conflicts, cumbersome visa procedures, the loss of direct international flights, and growing competition from cheaper and cleaner destinations such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand. It also points to complaints about Goa’s cleanliness, expensive taxis and overcrowding. Goa’s tryst with the foreign tourist has been long, colourful and sometimes even controversial. It was the hippy tourists who descended in the late 1960s and drew wider attention to the place. In 1974, Goa was home to what came to be widely regarded as India’s first luxury beach resort hotel, and it took foreign tourism to another level.
Goa then went on to lure a large number of charter tourists. Flights began in 1987, starting with Condor from Germany, followed by the Swedes; then came visitors from Britain, Russia and some other destinations. In 1987 itself, Goa witnessed one of its earliest dramatic anti-tourism protests when activists targeted charter flights operated by the German airline Condor Flugdienst. The protest at Dabolim airport was led largely by a small group of activists who felt that mass charter tourism was bringing low-spending “package tourists” while foreign tour operators captured most of the profits. It made headlines around the world. Lately, as even the naked eye would confirm, foreign tourists are few and far between in most parts of Goa.
The presence of the foreign visitor, in a way, acts as a brand builder for Goa. In a part of the world where anything ‘phoren’ smacks of value, seeing distant foreign tourists in Goa has also helped shore up general tourism. Now, as part of PM Narendra Modi’s austerity measures, in view of the fallout of the war, Goa’s plans to send delegations abroad to lure tourists lie punctured.
Tourism industry figures quoted above have argued that the boom in domestic tourism and the MICE (meetings and conferences) economy has also pushed up hotel prices, making Goa less attractive for long-staying backpackers and budget foreign travellers. While local tourism businesses are surviving due to strong Indian demand, at times in floods, some hold the view that foreign tourists are economically more valuable because they stay longer, spend more locally, and support the wider shack, restaurant and excursion economy. For this, infrastructure and cleanliness have to improve, and the other factors mentioned above should also be in Goa’s favour.
