FAO:-
*Shri Manohar Ajgaonkar *(Minister for Tourism, Goa) Dear Sir, I have read with great interest the recent reports in the Goan Press of the tourist industry there apparently “going down the pan”, with tourist numbers seemingly in rapid free-fall from year to year. Everyone there FINALLY appears to be waking up to the fact that things have gone drastically wrong. I use the word “finally”, because others, like myself, have predicted this inevitable situation many, many years back. In fact, it was probably during my first visit to Goa way back in 1996 that I first had my doubts as to the sustainability of the tourism industry there. I remember telling people upon my return to the UK about the total lack of proper infrastructure in Goa. Well, over the years, nothing much has changed. All I can see with my “outsider’s eyes” is that THE MESS HAS SIMPLY GOT BIGGER! During my subsequent extended stay in Goa, I did try myself to make a little effort wherever possible to introduce a little order amongst the chaos. I had quite a few letters published in the Herald newspaper, in particular, on various topics ranging from garbage issues to the painting of speed-breakers. I have been an active participant in various “clean-up” groups, removing garbage from small but high-profile bits of Goa, beaches in particular, to try and get the obvious point across that the Goans should be doing that part themselves. I am clearly a firm believer in the “Power of the Press” …. as I have seen for myself that it can achieve results, albeit relatively small ones in most cases. It is for that reason that *I am putting my thoughts into words here, in the hope that someone in the Press might realise that I am talking a certain amount of sense and then pursue these issues one step further*. However, I am directly addressing you here, Mr. Ajgaonkar, because it is YOU who is responsible for the mess. Please do not misunderstand what I am saying: I am not saying that you hold full responsibility for creating any of the chaos that Goans and tourists alike have to endure. But what I am saying is that it is YOU who are currently responsible for addressing most of the problems. It is YOU who has to act to tackle some of these problems, RIGHT NOW. Following the demise of the mining industry in Goa, the result is that tourism has become the largest single source of revenue for the state, by a big margin. For that very reason, I fail to understand why the Minister for Tourism has not become THE single most important post in Goa. In my opinion, your position of power, Mr. Ajgaonkar, should eclipse even that of the Chief Minister. Instead of that, you have a situation there where too much emphasis is being focused in the wrong direction. Please remember where your state’s revenue is coming from! Tourism should be given a higher priority in government, for the simple reason that this is where the money is! *I hope that suggestion alone might result in changes in the way you people start looking at the problems.* Speaking of the problems: It is extremely easy to figure out what is driving tourists away from Goa, or not attracting them in the first place – all you need to do is ask them! If you do that, you will soon discover a whole load of common factors, which have been repeated and made very clear in recent Press articles. However, *once the list of problems has been identified, then ACTION MUST BE TAKEN to put right the issues*. You cannot simply hope that the particular problem will go away by itself, because that invariable is not going to happen. My suggestion is to approach each problem with the simple logic statement, as follows:- If there is a problem with XXX, then get rid of XXX. Does that sound simple enough for everyone? Well, it may seem slightly facetious for me to point this out is such a manner, but please have a good think about the implications of that statement, in relation to a few examples. For instance, virtually all tourists visiting Goa will put the garbage issue somewhere near the top of their list of moans. So, all you need to do is put the word “garbage” in the above statement and it immediately tells you what needs to be done …. If there is a problem with GARBAGE, then get rid of GARBAGE. This is not rocket science! I am sure that even the most stupid MLA must realise that a massive clean-up of Goa is long overdue. However, I am absolutely certain that the reason nothing has been done to tackle the issue is because there is no money in it for anyone. Actually, that is technically incorrect, but I will not labour that point. The main point I am making is that the Government of Goa needs to allocate funds for a proper and intense clean-up operation, then continue funding the necessary infrastructure in order to prevent a re-occurrence of the problem. *YOU DO WANT TOURISM IN GOA, DON’T YOU?* That simple logic of how each particular problem MUST be dealt with is very easy to extend to ALL the issues which are driving away tourists. Obviously, each tourist will give a different list, but the whole idea is that market research will reveal which aspects should be prioritised. For the sake of completeness, I will give a few more examples of my own:- If there is a problem with HAWKERS ON THE BEACHES, then get rid of HAWKERS ON THE BEACHES. (I am fully aware, of course, that hawkers on the beaches also provide other services, such as involvement with prostitution and drugs, which probably explains why nobody ever does anything about them.) If there is a problem with PACKS OF BARKING DOGS, then get rid of PACKS OF BARKING DOGS. (The Animal Rights people might have a thing or two to say about that, but those people are not in the government!) If there is a problem with CHEATING TAXI DRIVERS, then get rid of CHEATING TAXI DRIVERS. (I never used them much myself, but I appreciate the problem – *MAKE TAXI METERS COMPULSORY* …. What is the problem with that? Is the taxi lobby so powerful in Goa that the government is being held to ransom?) If there is a problem with HARRASSMENT BY COPS, then get rid of HARRASSMENT BY COPS.* (Fit all cops with body cameras – Make sure they are doing their jobs properly.)* If there is a problem with MOTORBIKES ON BEACHES, then get rid of MOTORBIKES ON BEACHES. (*Lifeguards should be instructed and empowered to act if they see offenders*, not just sit on their arses like it is someone else’s responsibility. Go to any virtually any country in Europe and you will see that lifeguards have been given the authority to act against all antisocial behaviour such as this.) As I implied above, the entire list is probably endless. *But the main point is that you have to TAKE ACTION if you want to solve some of these problems*. As I said, these problems are not going to solve themselves on their own! The only thing that is holding back progress is any of these areas appears to be lack of funds. Well, unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about that. The only solution is to RAISE TAXES. Now, I realise that no government has ever made itself popular by doing that, especially if that government is being run by a bunch of crooks. But please remember also …. *If there is a problem with CROOKS IN GOVERNMENT, then get rid of CROOKS IN GOVERNMENT.* *YOU DO WANT TOURISM IN GOA, DON’T YOU?* You see, at the end of all of this, there remains one big problem that cannot be easily overcome:- The Government of Goa is being run by corrupt fools who do not really care whether tourism in the state suffers or not. They do not care about the People of Goa one iota. The only thing they care about is their own selfish greed. *The only time the tourism issue will become a real problem for the politicians, is when the People of Goa cannot afford to feed themselves …. and rise up and take control.* I pray to God that day will come very soon. Yours sincerely, David N. Cleaver (UK)
