The sun and sand tourism will remain in Goa as long as the government, present and future, don't make efforts to improve the infrastructure and other facilities. I remember Dr. Willy D'Souza, I think he was the tourism minister then, telling me during a chat on the sidelines of a opening ceremony event in Vasco that he would want to have high-end tourists rather than the backpackers. According to him the contribution of these backpackers was very small to the economy as they would eat at guest houses and eat at shacks. But then why would the high-end tourists come to Goa when they could go to better tourist destinations in India. A Canadian friend went to Goa and was sorely disappointed with the lack of facilities and cultural events. He was pleased with a few historical or heritage sites. He said for sun and sand he could go to Cuba or to any South American destination for almost same money. Recently, some friends went to Phuket (Thailand) and had a good time. Now Phuket is also famous as a "sex destination", though not all tourists go there for the same reason. I was enquiring about "detox" centres in Goa and a friend suggested I go to Thailand. I believe Goa has some but Kerala and Bangalore has some reputed ones. Holistic centres do bring in European tourists. In the mid-80s I met the late Dr. Proto Barbosa during his visit to Toronto. I am now not certain if he was the tourism minister then. In a chat with him I suggested that he visits some of the tourists spots in Toronto and outside the city to get some ideas. In fact, I said to him that the Toronto Place was an ideal model to Goa to build on a smaller scale. But the good doctor didn't evince any interest. I suppose he was on a personal holidays and not on official trip. Hence, he didn't want to waste his time on making trips to such venues. Trying to turn Goa into Singapore is a pipedream. Not with the financial crisis the Tourism Master Plan will remain on the shelf for a long time. Goa needs a makeover, a new makeup as actor Deepika Padukone, one of the projected "brand ambassadors, does before a film shoot. A Deepika or any other Bollywood star will not be able to lure foreign tourists. Canada had appointed Akshay Khanna as "brand ambassador" for tourism in India for a brief period. I doubt it really helped in bringing large number of tourists from India into Canada. Some films with Goa-centric themes have done enough to bring Goa further into the tourism focus in India. These obviously bring in more domestic tourists which the Goa hospitality industry may not want. The way forward has to be found, and ealier the better.
eugene ******
