The smallest state of India- Goa survives mainly on two economic fronts, mining and tourism.With the pause on mining which was implemented in the end of 2013 saw Goa depending a lot on tourism to replace its economy. The 105 km Long Beach line turns into a party spot on new year’s eve, also the different festivals in the state such as carnivals, shigmos and other traditional and commercial events bring out the festive and lively mood in everyone around.
In early years Goa was mostly visited by hippies, they would come to Anjuna beach and spend time there. At that time these people didn’t have much money, therefore there were more night markets so that they could sell their goods. Eventually as time went on Goa saw more higher class tourists coming in from other parts of the world. This increased drastically over the years.
The collaboration of the tourists and the Goans is beautiful. Coming to Goa meant having an amazing time. But recently the tourism industry has been hit and is deteriorating on a large scale. The reasons behind this cannot be put pricely in order since there are many big as well as small reasons leading to this drop in tourism.
For starters when you see Goa today it is much more crowded than it used to be 10 years back. The tourists came here to relax and enjoy the serene beaches. But now due to the beaches and even other places being overcrowded the tourists have stopped coming.
This has intern led to a lot of uncleanliness in the state. Garbage being a major issue since a very long time, adding to it is making things much worse. Tourists definitely prefer a clean environment even if it is a small place, Goa needs to work on these problems.
Russian tourists were on a decline last year due to the crisis in their country. Other tourists from around the world have also declined. There was a decrease in international charters from Germany, Sweden and Switzerland due to less demand from tourists there. Bad infrastructure, high prices are some the reasons why tourists are avoiding Goa.
Due to this shacks, restaurants, taxis and other businesses have seen less income, keeping up to their business has become a major task. The drop in tourism has led to issues like deserted shacks, thinning crowds, unemployment in companies as well as hotels and restaurants shut down. Making business unviable.
The fact that a lot of people have been affected by this, is a turning point. Government should focus on quality not quantity, concentrate on tourists that are well off, who don’t mind the prices, this way the whole tourism industry won’t get disrupted.
Either way the domestic tourists from cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and other cities are always coming and going throughout the year. These tourists are seen all over Goa whenever there are holidays or even on weekends. They might be a handful to handle but they sustain the tourism industry.
