Monarch flight .Nearly empty

the irish indian

Hi All,

I came across this very interesting article whilst browsing.
Its from Ryan Lobo a Goan who now resides in Bangalore. He is a Documentary Film Maker and a Photographer who gives a very vivid picture of todays Goa.I for one agree with his prognosis but have a read and see what you think....when you read it you start to realise why Foreign tourism is on the decline and why some of the Monarch flights are almost empty.

http://ryanlobo.blogspot.com/2007/02/goa.html

Regards,
Remy

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shashank.aggarwal

Oh..yeas...I forgot, when we travel with our families we take our sleeping bags and sleep on the beach..we also have cooking gear and boil our Rice and Dal there itself. We know how to brew and enjoy our home made beer.

Or maybe foreigners do not mind paying Rs.600 for prawn curry and Rice..(as mentioned in the above articles) and make fool of themselves that Goans have started to Crib..

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capt_mahajan

Just chiming in here, hopefully just once:


It doesn't just exceed.

The number of Domestic tourists to Goa is ten times the number of foreign tourists.
Foreign owned property in Goa, (part Two)

The slack in foreign tourists will undoubtedly be taken up by growing domestic tourism, but that wasn't my point.

Either way, whether foreign or domestic tourists, I don't see the situation on the ground in Goa improving, is what I was trying to say earlier.

Of course, it is understandable that the local sharks prefer the foreigners. I would too, at 600 bucks a plate at a shack.

Or should that read local prawns?

shashank.aggarwal

That means that if tourism is 15% of states GDP, then foreigners only contribute 1.5% of the same..

However considering that they pay Rs.600 for prawn and rice and are BIG spenders still their contribution won't exceed 5 %.

patti123

Scroll down the main page to see Drop in tourist inflow during this season.
http://www.goacom.com/joel/news/2008/jan/02jan08.htm

Noni

This reminds me of a bus full of indians which came into Candolim, unloaded their pots and pans and started cooking on the waste ground they stayed over the holidays. With due respect I cannot see how people in Deli and other places know what is happening in Goa. Have you spoken to the local traders, and those who are now laying people off, because of the lack of tourist? All types of commerce are loosing money due to the tourist situation and property problems.

shashank.aggarwal

That is your problem, you only interact with people who are part of tourism industry, and I have already given the numbers that are impacted by the same, less than 5 % of GDP comes from foreigners.

And if the link given by Patti is to be believed then 10% is what is the negative impact on tourism this "Holiday week"..not sure if having 2 rooms or tables empty would force a businessman to lay off employees..but again if they are laying them off, then I am not sure how they survive when it is off season, they definitely are on fragile grounds ..

York Stiller

All your mathematics can´t change the fact Goa is definately in a slump, and that´s what this thread initially was about. When I read the post from irish indian and the attached blogspot of Ryan Lobo, it was a sad confirmation to my worst apprehensions for the future of Goa. Yes, foreign tourists may be a minority, but if they diminish year per year and finally clear out, it won´t solve any of Goas urgent homemade problems.

shashank.aggarwal

I agree with you !! but my stand is against those make us believe that tourism earns bread and butter for Goa..

Goa should be saved but not because tourists are not coming there, but it needs to be preserved for better reasons, for larger good of the society and future generations..

the irish indian

Yes i agree that Goa should be saved and its great to see that the Goan people are finally realising what is happening to Goa and are now taking to the streets in protest and defience.....but i also sympathise for the foreign tourists who have faithfully visited Goa year after year, embraced the culture and way of life and consider Goa to be home from home....indeed some have secured residency and consider themselves Goan. These tourists are now being penalised instead of the Russian and Israeli Mafia, the big land grabbers and crimelords that are becoming the scourge of Goa.

It is the responsibility of all tourists both foreign and domestic to help preserve Goa for future generations......they should be able to do this together and unite against crime and corruption and certainly not contribute or condone it in any way.

I for one am glad that people pressure has forced the Government to re-write the 2011 regional plan and dismiss these SEZs.

Tourism both foreign and domestic will continue to decrease as Goa becomes a Paradise lost.
Goa is being sold to the highest bidder....bit by bit by those who are intrusted to Save it.....tourism will die if this doesnt change and Goa will no longer be a tourist destination but just another large overcrowded suburb.

Lets not fall out over who spends what or who contributes what....its better to get behind organisations like the GBA and help in the preservation of this small state before its too late.

http://savegoa.com/

Kind Regards,
Remy

shashank.aggarwal

Now again, why only Goa, why not places that are suffering much more and a lot more poorer to Goa ? do we have some vested interest in Goa OR are we trying to protect our little holiday spot and give a damn about other things ?

I do not remember exactly, however, few weeks back we had a discussion that most of the things in Goa are over-priced, a taxi charges a Rs.700-1000 from Airport to Calangute area, is it justified ? The treatment given to Ryan Lobo, was it justified ?

Do you realize that it has been mentioned several times on the board that Goans have serious problems with people (Indians) who come there to work from outside ? Have you ever read anywhere on the forum that local Goan (not administration) has problem with foreigners coming in and making Goa their home ? why do they have problem with Poor Indians and not Rich (comparatively) FN ?

machadinha

I liked that

Other than that, I have a déjà-vu feeling (all over again ) of having seen all the pros and cons pass by before, with no one being prepared to give an inch. Might be reminiscent in a way of the situation on the ground, come to think of it. By way of the macro often mirroring the micro levels and all that.

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the irish indian

Hi there,

Its not only Goa.....but because this topic is on the Goa Thread and its Goa thats being refered to...well there you have it.

Cheers,
Remy

PS. The administration in Goa does have a proplem with rich foreigners buying property in Goa...hence all the ongoing investigations by the directorate of enforcment into breaches of FEMA by foreigners. It is illegal for non resident Foreign National to purchase property in Goa or India for that matter.
The Goan people also have a problem with this as its pushing house prices beyond their reach. Also its mainly out of state indians that are running the businesses in Goa and not Goans themselves.....out of all the main shops in Calengute only a few stalls are Goan.

shashank.aggarwal

I am surprised that such things are only discussed in Chai and Chat about other situations and we doing this in Goa section. There are few posters in this thread who only post in Goa threads and are concerned about that. Maybe because their interest is only limited to that.

Then I am not sure why this thing is ever mentioned in Goa threads. In plain simple English a Foreigner is not entitled to purchase land in any part of India, how does it impact tourism ?

Define Goan people for me ? The Goans you see are not of Portuguese origin for sure !! They are people from India and what used to be India and other south east Asia landmass, the people who migrated from other parts centuries ago to Goa.

And I accept that it might be outside Goa people who are running the show, however I don't see any one protesting when it is said that local Goan Tradesmen are suffering, as other claims that its the other Indians who are running the show. I am confused It means that all Indians are suffering, then where does 'Goan People' issue comes from ?

the irish indian

Hi again,

Strictly speaking a Foreign National can own property in Goa but first they should be resident ie. complete a stay of more than 182 days in a fiscal year and prove their intention to stay.....many have done this all over India just as many Indians have done it in the UK. This is perfectly legal. Also an FN can obtain PIO status through having an Indian spouse which also permits them to purchase property and reside in India.

Now reference the Goan people thing.....your right in that there are Indians suffering all over India and this should'nt be in modern India therfore i am in total agreement with you on this.
But what is concerning the Goan people is that because Goa is a big tourist destination there is a massive influx of immigrants who besiege the state every tourist season... The whole way from Kullu, Manali and Kashmir to Karnataka and beyond. The state is having problems coping with the needs of the immigrants and its putting pressure on the state and its infrastructure. Everyone thinks their pot of Gold lies in Goa in the guise of the tourists money.....many are finding this just is'nt so.

There is already murmurings from Goans about the 'rich' NRIs and PIOs who are also buying property and land from money earned in Dubai and beyond also a lot of Indias rising middle class are seeking to buy property in Goa. This is pushing the cost of living and property beyond the reach of many Goans. On top of this they feel that their identity is being taken away from them as so many outsiders scramble to slice up Goa (including politicians). So there is a lot of issues on hand ....and i accept that these problems ar'nt just indiginous to Goa......but as Goa is being promoted as Indias No 1 tourist attraction then here in lies a problem.

My prognosis is that things are sadly going to get worse before they get better.....and when i read the blog from Ryan Lobo i can understand why he doesn't recognise the Goa of his youth anymore as this Goa has been lost to the history books forever.

The same thing is going to happen to Kerala as well....just give it ten years.

Regards,
Remy