Why not a cap on tourism sector? By *Cleofato Almeida Coutinho* | 14 Jan, 2015,
The opinion poll day (January 16th), though celebrated on a very low key as ‘Asmitai Dis’ may be good occasion to introspect on the impact of tourism on culture and identity of Goa and Goans. Tourism industry is now seen as a backbone of Goa’s economy. This tiny state attracts lakhs of visitors annually with the season peaking at Christmas time and the New Year. This year, despite the exposition of the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier, which brought lakhs of pilgrims most of whom came around the peak season, it is said that the tourism season was a flop show. The casinos and Electronic Dance Festivals were the saving grace! Tourism was considered as the second most economically important sector after mining and the state depended heavily on that sector. With a stop in mining operations we have put all the eggs in the tourism basket as the only way forward for our economy. It is seen as a foreign currency earner for the country besides providing a boost to state’s economy. The government may claim the industry to be backbone of the Goa’s economy but the net state domestic product is only around 12%. The ‘Asmitai Dis’ may be good time to take a call on to what extent can the tiny state of 3702 sq. kilometres with 105 kilometres of coast line (with only 65 kilometres metres designated as beach area) tolerate mass tourism. The Goa tourism’s website announces plenty of accommodation for foreign and domestic tourists. A very conservative estimate shall show that the additional accommodation is increasing in all categories at an average of about 8%. Looking at the position from purely infrastructure angle, the breakdown of the road network between the week starting 24th December and the extended holiday around 2 to 7th October of 2014 coupled with the unmanageable garbage all round the cities shows that the state infrastructure has collapsed under the weight of inflow of domestic tourists. There can be no second opinion that the industry has boosted the state economy and certain local people have earned money which has raised their standard of living creating a new middle class which has vested interest in the industry like the class of truck owners and owners of earthmoving machinery in the mining belt. As the coastline hustles and bustles with activity, villagers become more materialistic leading to the fleecing of tourists. (The tourist taxi drivers are now seen as a black spots on the tourism front). The industry requires development by way of housing and building of restaurants to cater to all tourists. At the international level each room in a four started hotel consumes 300 liters of water per day. Hundred of hotels and thousands of rooms can certainly affect the fresh water reserves. That damages the environment. Spain which built its economy around tourism got its entire cost destroyed at the cost of tourism income. About 40 years ago Bali became a hot tourist destination as it transformed from cultural tourism to mass tourism. The NGOs which fought to preserve the environment in Bali lost the battle in much the same way as the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fouz (Vigilant Goa’s Army) lost the battle in the nineties. The story of Bali is not different from that of Goa. Hundreds of hotels got built, with thousands of cubic metres of garbage being generated and the state unable to recycle, huge traffic jams on the arterial roads of Bali. Bali tried in vain to control the impact by law with an ambitious plan aimed at protecting the environment like a mandatory 150 meters minimum spacing between tourist resorts and the beach, no hotel within 5 kilometers from temples. In January 2011 looking at the complete deterioration, the governor ordered a moratorium on new constructions in heavily urbanized areas. He said ‘Bali risks becoming a sterilized land bristling with concrete constructions’. The alarm bells rang too late in the day. The other collateral damage the industry does is by crime, prostitution and rising land prices. The Goa’s tourism industry is built around Goa as a place of leisure and relaxation officially, but on the unofficial side Goa’s beaches are sites for sex and drug tourism. In the eighties and nineties Goa was shown as a ‘female’ sold to the male consumer. The central government and government’s tourism brochures showed bikini clad women in their advertising material to sell Goa. I remember captions by stared hotels in south Goa one said ‘just the minimum clothes will do’ and another said ‘rediscovery of your life’. That has created a different imagery of Goa. The impact of that imagery on the idea of Goa has been tremendous. The tourism industry is certainly not a curse. We who are blessed with a coast line with palm fringed beaches making it a haven for both foreign and domestic tourists cannot fritter away the free gift of nature. It is said that, tourism is the largest economic activity in the world second to the world industrial military economy. I read somewhere tourism is like fire, you can use it to cook with or can burn your house down. A lot is said and written over saving our land from ‘outsiders’ but very precious little is said and written over the so called economic backbone. The halt to the mining industry brought in the concept of carrying capacity of the state to decide the cap on mining. Such a similar carrying capacity or any other formula is also required to cap the tourism sector so that our tiny state cannot be permitted to go the same path as Bali or Hawaii. (The writer is a practicing lawyer, senior faculty in law and political analyst)