Goa's makeover from beaches and nightlife to temples and heritage homes

Radha Krishna Temple at the BITS Pilani Goa Campus in Zuarinagar,Sancoale Vasco is becoming the popular tourist spot in the State of Goa. Image: @TourismGoa

Goa's tourism industry is on the cusp of transformation, with the state government now focusing on promoting spiritual sites, heritage homes and agriculture tourism. The goal is to shift the focus of tourism beyond beaches.

This is happening at a time when hoteliers and restaurant owners are facing significant business loss, with dwindling footfalls in the state. The Small and Medium Hoteliers Association (SMHA) has highlighted the lack of ease of doing business in the state, visa issues for foreign tourists, and high prices as compared to other tourist destinations like Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Foreign tourist arrivals in the state have yet to recover to pre-Covid levels. Moneycontrol reported in December last year on how the hospitality industry has been facing challenges in the state, leading to a low turnout of travellers despite the peak winter season. Changing regulations, licensing requirements, and policies have posed challenges for the tourism industry.

In response, the state government is transitioning from a sea-shore-centric tourism model to a more inclusive and people-centric approach.

According to Rohan A. Khaunte, Minister of Tourism, Goa, "the impact of climate change and democratization calls for a paradigm shift beyond sustainability towards regenerative tourism." The focus is now on "mindful" tourism that takes into account economic, social, and environmental impacts and addresses the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities. The state government is promoting 11 spiritual sites as part of the regenerative tourism model.

The 11 temples that have been identified to promote spiritual tourism in Goa include Shree Shantadurga Kukalkarin Fatorpa, Saptkoteshwar Narve Bicholim, Brahmakarmali Sattari, Mahaganpati Khandola, Mangesh temple Mangeshi, Mahalsa temple Mardol, Mahadev mandir Tambdi Surla, Damodar Devsthan Zambauli, Parshuram temple Paigin, Hari Mandir Margao, Shree Datta mandir Sankhli.

Also read: Temple towns emerge as travel hotspots, Ayodhya to further boost spiritual tourism

Goa which is also promoting itself as Dakshin Kashi last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uttarakhand government to promote spiritual, wellness, and eco-tourism circuits and collaborate on creating joint tourism packages to facilitate tourist footfalls to Goa and Uttarakhand. "The message we have put across is connecting Dakshin Kashi with Uttar Kashi," Khaunte said.

The initiative also saw the inauguration of the first direct flight between Goa and Dehradun, from Indigo Airlines which was launched on May 23, 2023.

"We are touching upon tier II cities which are more on the spiritual side. We are looking to increase connectivity across Nagpur, Nasik, Dehradun, Ranchi, Varanasi, with Goa," he added.

The minister said that an average domestic tourist who comes to Goa stays for about four nights and an international visitor stays for nine nights.

"Domestic tourists would want to stay more for spiritual tourism to understand the temples more. The 11 temples is just a start and there are many more. As for international tourists we are talking about yoga, meditation, and other such activities and around five to six days of the total nine days we are using for these activities. This way the tourist understands the new perception of Goa. Earlier tourists came for nightlife, casinos and beaches but today we are we want people to explore Goa differently," he added.

Also read: An insider's guide to Goa's capital, through Panjim's women-run businesses

Tourism 2.0

The new approach also includes heritage homes and the state is expecting to launch a heritage policy by next month. "We have old Portuguese type of heritage homes and through the heritage policy, we will give support system to people who want to ensure they can renovate their house to a certain point and it is used for tourism. Heritage houses will be supported by the Goa government in terms of capital. We have identified 30 houses in the first-year for heritage houses. Houses over 100 years will come under heritage homes. This will be part of heritage tourism which will let tourists stay in such homes," Khaunte said.

The state government has also launched two policies including homestay to give opportunities to the local communities to enter the tourism sector while the caravan policy is to promote the hinterlands of the state. Goa government is looking to promote the hinterlands of Sattari, Dharbandora, Sanguem, Bicholim, Ponda, Quepem and Canacona.

"We have completed MOU with Airbnb. We are also getting into an MOU with MakeMyTrip, Agoda and many more players. We have asked these platforms to ensure regulated places so no unregistered hotels are listed on these platforms to avoid revenue leakages and to ensure transparency," Khaunte noted.

The state is also looking at promoting sustainable agriculture practices. "This involves supporting local farmers and showcasing organic farming techniques by providing tourists an authentic taste of Goa ‘s culinary traditions," the minister said.

Also read: Maldives row: Travel demand takes a hit as Indians cancel trips to island nation

The state is also taking up sports tourism as a priority especially to drive footfalls during the non-peak seasons.

Tourism growth

The tourism industry makes up 16.43 percent of the state's gross domestic product (GDP) and is expected to grow by 4-5 percent over the next three years. "However, it is important to ensure that we don't over-exploit our resources and instead focus on creating economic and employment opportunities. Tourism is responsible for about 34 percent of the employment in Goa, providing a significant amount of jobs. The government is looking to create self-employment opportunities for people and invest in upskilling programs," Khaunte said.

The minister emphasized the need to change the perception of Goa and focus on more than just beaches. Despite the pandemic, Goa still receives around 10 million domestic tourists annually, and the government is now prioritizing quality tourism and quality spending over sheer numbers.