Exactly where does the buck stop in Goa?

At its press conference last week, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) protested the rapid decline of Destination Goa. “This season has been the last straw,” said its president Savio Messias, pointing to areas requiring urgent state intervention: relief from GST, waste management, “indiscipline of taxi operators and drivers”, police harassment, and proliferation of unregistered hotels. All these are valid and important points, but conspicuously lacking any sense of responsibility for the industry’s own bad decisions. We know the government is an irretrievable mess, but where is the accountability for tourism stakeholders’ own contributions to the disaster?


TTAG’s timing was accidentally ironic. Just then, news was breaking about two important Supreme Court judgments that reveal a lot about the nature of Goa’s tourism industry. Both decisions dismissed appeals by petitioners (one in Colva, the other in Miramar) attempting to prevent demolition of large portions of luxury hotels that were built in contravention of the law. But these are not isolated incidents. At this very moment, a giant hotel complex rises hideously across a pristine sea-facing

Mandrem

hilltop where construction remains forbidden. How does it serve the legitimate segment of the hospitality sector to stay silent in the face of such brazen criminals in their midst?

Also absent in TTAG’s catalogue of complaints was the shameful capitulation to the reviled casinos. When questioned, Messias offered lukewarm comments about gamblers serving the needs of some

Panaji

hotels. But what was left unsaid is that casinos (right alongside garbage) are by far the biggest factor in the demise of Goa’s brand value. It has become evident that prized “high value travellers” are collectively repulsed by Goa’s tawdry “gaming” tourist traps, and repelled by their sleazy insinuating advertising now blanketing the eye from the point of disembarkation at the airport.

None of this should be read as selective targeting of mainstream tourism in Goa, which initially found success despite official bungling. It is true that other successful destinations feature effective public-private partnerships to preserve and develop natural advantages, cultural riches and native hospitality, which are altogether missing here. But why single out the well-meaning TTAG? Every aspect of public life and private enterprise suffers from lack of accountability.

To commemorate Liberation Day last month, residents of the rash of real estate complexes on the Kadamba Plateau went on satyagraha over the absence of government water supply. The state said it was not responsible because builders had assured they would bring in the water resources needed. But how could licences for construction and occupation have been issued in this scenario? Why are new customers being entrapped by false advertising? Why is no one held responsible for this fiasco?

Goa enters 2019 in a shambles, still reeling from a damaging 2018. In this election year, every would-be leader must be aware huge dividends will accrue to anyone who can acknowledge mistakes and pledge to correct course. Relevant here is Harry Truman, who became president of the US in the rubble of World War II, before bringing that conflagration to an end, then administering one of the greatest turnarounds in world history, including demobilisation, the initiation of Civil Rights legislation, and the implementation of the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe.

On Truman’s desk in the White House, a sign said, “The buck stops here”, which he often repeated as his personal statement of accountability for whatever occurred on his watch. It’s an example Goa’s motley crew would gain from emulating.