TAKING VISITORS TO THE HEART OF GOA... ON PEDALS Goa's tourism has been growing more sophisticated over the years -- you have five and seven star resource-guzzling resorts dotting the coast, cuisine from half-way across the globe, and landscaping influenced by remote Hawaii. In this backdrop, it took a couple of Britons to realise the potential of packaging the simple back-to-basics charms of India's smallest state.
Cyclegoa is a new initiative to be run in the coming tourist season by two British cycling enthusiasts who "enjoyed Goa so much, that they decided to live there". This, in itself, is not unusual for a state many love to fall in love with; though the locals don't quite understand what visitors go ga ga about. "Our aim is (to let visitors) experience the hustle and bustle of day to day India, but also to indulge in the calm and beauty of scenic Goa," say Adrian (32) from Kent, who in the past managed a catering business, and Peter (38), who earlier worked in the merchant navy. Their tours on pedals will take the visitors to the 'real Goa' -- travelling through its small villages, and visiting its bigger towns (locally called "cities", somewhat grandiloquently). Say the duo, who are just about the launch their business: "We will also be visiting many of Goa's places of interest, such as the temples at Ponda, the not to be missed Dudhsagar Falls and the beautiful Paradise beach at Palolem." Okay, even if this fits in with the regular tourism cliche, the unusual aspect is that they're convincing their guests to do all this on cycle. Their cocktail: a good blend of back-roads cycling, with relaxation on the beach. "Longer cycling days are always followed by rest days, so there is ample time for rest and relaxation, and let's not forget about that all important suntan," promise the duo, giving a mix of hard-sell and their favourite mode of transport. Adrian offered an insight into their plans to FREDERICK NORONHA: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What inspired you to undertake this venture? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Myself and my business partner have travelled to many places and have often mused over starting a business oriented towards travel and tourism. We both instantly fell in love with Goa from the minute we arrived. Goa has fantastic scenery, a very strong mix of culture and religion and is very interesting historically. There is a lot to see and many places to visit in Goa. I think Goa is a well kept secret. Most Brits think it is a small island, or a resort like Benidorm in Spain. We are both keen cyclists. During our stay we travelled extensively by bicycle and had some fantastic experiences, travelling through many villages and staying away from the main roads. We saw sights, views and met people that we probably wouldn't have done had we travelled in a taxi. This inspired us to want to share in our experiences in beautiful Goa and so the idea of a cycling touring holiday of Goa began. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would it be viable? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. We believe it to be a viable option. Adventure holidays are in a state of growth within the holiday industry. Also there are no other companies, that we are aware of, running cycling tours in Goa. Hopefully this will make us unique in the market place. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is the interest level you anticipate? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- We expect it to be quite high. Cycling is quite a popular sport within the UK with every town having its own cycling club. It is also a growing sport in countries like the United States and Australia due to their successes in races such as the Tour De France. We are anticipating an equal level of interest from countries such as these as well as the U.K. When on holiday most Brits tend to hire a bike to explore the area for themselves. We will offer the service of escorting them if they so wish. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What has been your responses so far? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Its very early days. The website has only been up and running for a few weeks. We have just started to advertise and are getting a number of enquiries every day. The feed back from the website itself has been very positive. The feedback from the local cycling clubs that I meet has also been very positive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What would your tour offer visitors which is different? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where shall we start?!!! Our tours are based around cycling. The style of riding will be leisure riding conducted at an easy pace. We will be travelling through villages where we will be stopping for drinks and food etc. We will be taking our visitors away from the resort and into the heart of Goa visiting the temples at Ponda, the cathedral in Old Goa and many other areas of interest that seem to be missed by most people. However we will also have "rest days" where our clients can spend the day unwinding on the beach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is the interest level in cycling in the U.K? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are many different forms of cycling in the UK from BMX to road biking. Each town has a road club, a mountain bike club, and a touring club. Cycling is very popular here in the U.K but unfortunately due to our cold and wet climate, most people will only cycle during the summer months. Cycling in the UK falls into two main categories - sports and leisure. The leisure market is growing and the British government is trying to encourage cycling as a lifestyle, to help reduce cases of heart disease and obesity. We now have a national cycling week, which has helped promote cycling and increase the number of cyclists. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What kinds of vehicles will you be providing? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- For our back-up vehicles, we will be using local taxis. Obviously you can't beat local knowledge and also we can't speak the local language so using local taxis will be ideal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of the quality of Indian bicycles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- They are heavier than European or American bicycles, but well equipped and more than able to cope with the terrain that we will be riding. They are also good value-for-money compared to a European make. I believe that a lot of Indian bikes are sent to the UK and re-named for the UK market. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you think Goa offers a lot to visitors currently? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes there is plenty to see and do. Also Goa seems distinctly split between north and south, with the north a lot more tourist-oriented and seeming to be more popular with a younger crowd. The south tends to be a lot more peaceful and relaxing. It caters for people who love a "beach" holiday with its fantastic and beautiful unspoilt beaches and for those who like to explore. It has a large number of places of interest to visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you think Goa is failing to offer visitors a peek at its non modernised charms? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think that the balance at the moment is just right. Tourist information should be made available to all hotels (leaflets, etc). Guests can then choose what they want to see and where they wish to travel at their own leisure. Some visitors will want (like us) to see the true Goa. Other visitors just want winter sun. This is unfortunate, but you can't force people to see the culture if they don't want to. Forcing Goa's non-modernised charms into the tourist industry will eventually destroy it, as it is inevitable that big business and greed will follow, changing it forever. This has already happened in many European resorts and what was once tradition, soon becomes history. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What kind of break even in operations are you aiming at? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- We don't expect to break even until the second year. We have to say a warm thank you to everybody in Goa who has made us feel so welcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lastly, do tell us something about yourselves? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I (Adrian) am 32 years old, come from a working class family in Kent England. Managed a catering business for a number of years, decided I needed a change as I had only ever worked in the catering industry. Have spent the last few years working for Customs and Excise (how's that for a change!), but even though it is a well paid job it is very boring. So I felt that I once again needed a change My favorite sports are cycling and football, but I like most sports. Chelsea is my club. I have been to see football matches in Margao which is great fun and will carry on doing so. I love Indian food, which is quite lucky! I also like Chinese and Donner Kebabs, but I haven't seen the latter anywhere in Goa. Favorite places are Goa and Greece due to guaranteed good weather, beaches, nice people and good food. Goa has the edge over Greece! I (Peter) am 38 years old and like many Goans originally worked in the Merchant Navy. For the last 14 years I also have worked for Customs and Excise, but have now decided that a change of lifestyle is needed. I cycle for pleasure not to race and enjoy football (our national sport). I have been to Goa three times and started watching Churchill Brothers play in Margao. I must say that I was very impressed with the stadium there. I saw Vasco vs Churchill Brothers and enjoyed the atmosphere in the stadium. The Goans definitely enjoy their fireworks and bangers. [FOOTNOTE: More details can be got from [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://www.cyclegoa.com. The duo says they plan to be based at the Mobor Beach Resort Hotel in Cavelossim.] -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post to Usenet's first-ever Goa-related group: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
