Goa's big tourism challenge is to find a variety of ways to promote healthy tourism for everyone. The approach, so far, of the government to promote tourism indicates its failure to think creatively, and also a bankruptcy of ideas.
Decades ago when I visited Korea for the first time, I was impressed with how ingeniously they promoted their traditional culture through the theatre-restaurant concept, which is exactly what it is, a big restaurant with a stage. Usually, the dinner show lasted for three hours, during which the customers, that is, tourists and locals watched the Koreans dance and sing while eating and drinking. There were always lots of families in the audience, the kids especially, enjoying the comedy routines. We in Goa can take a page out of Korea's tourist promotion book and use it to promote our traditional dance, music and tiatr culture. Songs can be sung in Konkani as well as English translations. In villages where there are lots of tourists, such as Calangute, Candolin, Baga, Colva, and so on, small theatre-restaurants could be built by the Panchayats to entertain the tourists. It will provide extensive employment for our singers and dancers without encouraging criminal activities and destruction of our environment. Enjoy!
