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High Expectations THE new tourism season is at Goa's doorstep and expectations in the tourism trade are ranging high that this year won't fare as badly as it did last year. The Director of Tourism, N Suryanarayan, says that 425 charter flights are expected to bring in hordes of foreign tourists from the UK, Scandinavia and Germany to Goa this year. Accordingly, the forthcoming charter tourist season promises to be a bright one. In fact, last year had witnessed the arrival of 419 charter flights, which brought 1.17 lakh tourists, the highest in the last 10 years. But Goa's coastal belt had also increased it bed strength and as such some hotels and resorts felt totally ignored. Among the grandiose plans the government has chalked out to smoothen the movement of overseas tourists, figures the proposed international airport at Mopa in Pernem. Law Minister Ramakant Khalap feels that Goa's first chief minister, the late Dayanand G Bandodkar, had grand visions for the welfare of the State. In acknowledge of this, Khalap proposed that the Mopa airport be named as Dayanand Bandodkar International Airport. He said it after garlanding the Bandodkar statute in Calangute on the 28th death anniversary of the departed leader recently. Mopa, however, is situated to the northernmost extremity of Goa and hence hoteliers and others in South Goa are pitted against the project. They argue that the Dabolim airport is centrally located, and is good and convenient enough for the entire State. A high-level meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Secretary Ministry of Shipping, MP Pinto, discussed the potential of cruise tourism in the four major ports on the West Coast including Goa. Another idea mooted (by Chief Secretary Baleshwar Rai) involved the setting up of fire stations at beaches and industrial areas. Rai feels that the growing number of five-star hotels, resorts and other leisure ventures at the coastal areas could result in fire hazards. Down South, there are plans to erect a tall "Welcome Gate" at Polem in the Canacona taluka, to inform the tourists that they are already in Goa. The undevelop taluka hardly looks like a part of Goa and hence the tourists quite often ask at the Polem check post, "How far is Goa from here?" without realising that they are already in Goa from neighbouring Karnataka. The estimated cost of the "Welcome Gate" is in the region of Rs.15 lakh. Plans here include the beautification of the surroundings and the setting up of a tourist information centre, a resting room and much needed toilets. At the extreme north in Mandrem, where the tourists flock at the height of the season, Ramakant Khalap has assured the improvement in the power supply to his beach-blessed Mandrem constituency, through the erection of new transformers, bifurcation of power supply through separate feeders and enhancing the capacity of the existing 3.15 MVA sub-station at Tuem to 6.3 MVA. The Centre too is goading Goa to improve the infrastructure for tourist and its behest the State Department of Tourism has set up a committee under the chairmanship of a renowned architect KD Sadhale, to look out for 100 houses, which could be declared as heritage homes in Goa. Since Goa is blessed with the bountry of nature, the IT minister, Ramakant Khalap, has suggested the use of the slogan "Goa, God's Own Abode", to counter the propaganda being made to sell Kerala as "God's Own Country" for tourism promotion. Slogans don't sell but good services and facilities do. Authorities need to exert enough pressure at least to improve the condition of the pot-holed road from Calangute to Siolim, along Goa's tourism highway, before the tourism season begins. As the tourists troupe in, the drug scene too will keep pace with the massive inflow. Close links are being built assiduously between Himachal Pradesh's Kulu and other destinations, with Goa, claims a study of the drug trade there. It warns that Himachal has "through the years carved its own niche in the drug trade at the global and international levels". All the foreign visitors don't seem to come here with good intentions. Whatever his intentions, Milton Hugo Wiggins (55), who was staying at Vazvaddo in Velim even after the expiry of his visa, was booked for knocking down a British national, Tony Don, at Navelim while driving a Tata Sumo. Milton is likely to face deportation soon. Though the tourist season is hardly here, the first of the casualities was an unidentified female foreigner, whose nude body was found along the Candolim-Calangute beach, and which is lying unclaimed at the mcomue since July 23. The blonde-haired woman appears to be an affluent North European, who had undertaken cosmetic facial surgery and spent a fortune on her dentures. The much talked about shacks are still making waves. The coastal MLAs will meet at the Secretariat, on September 4, for the second time, to finalise the procedure for setting up of beach shacks for the forthcoming tourist season. Their first meeting was in August. A stipulated licence fee of Rs 25,000/- that each 'unemployed' shack awardee will be forced to shell out, ironically, defeats the Government's proposal of alloting the shacks to the unemployed "natives". For yet another season, the stranded "MV River Princess" would be a 'tourist attraction' at the Sinquerim beach, where it has been lying since last year. The North Goa District Collector, Sanjeev Khirwar, said on August 28 that the State administration would be compelled to take action against the owners of the "MV River Princess" if they do not tow away the ship from its current position off the Sinquerim coast by August 31. These definitely are no great hassles compared to the beauty of Goa and the hospitality of its people which attract foreigners to this land of lovely beaches, age-old churches, exquisite temples and quaint traditions. If the tourists observe a bit of caution and keep away from the major trouble spots, they can thoroughly enjoy a wonderful holiday in tropical Goa. And if they happen to reach Cotigao, besides the wild-life sanctuary they could get to witness the lone, dead telephone in the village. The antique telephone being an old, radio-type unit even the spares are not available anywhere to revive it. Joel D'Souza |