Violence casts long shadow on Goa tourism peak week

There is a stream of thought that believes tourism is flowing the right way, and another that the boat is wobbling. In the confusion, domestic tourists in Goa were assaulted twice, rubbing salt on the wounds.

First, whatever be the reason or reasons for the attack, it needs to be condemned. The act is not acceptable, whatever the excuse. That apart, it portrayed an ugly face of Goa, unknown to most visitors.

There are two versions that attempt to explain the reasons that caused the violent reactions. One, that, the tourists were drunk, and the other that the tourists got abusive when they were told that they were not going to be served drinks after 10 pm.

There have been occasions in the past when bartenders refused to serve more drinks when they felt the customer had partaken of more than he could have handled and after a few alcohol-infused insults, the visitor was shown the door without the use of force.

There have been many instances when clients have drunk more than they could have, and on very few occasions where they might have been hit, but not many because, at most times, situations are handled deftly.

If, the visitors were upset that they were not being served drinks after closing time and got abusive – these are hypothetical presumptions – hitting them black and blue was definitely the worst option.

It is imperative that shack owners make it clear at what time the last order for drinks is taken. Anything after that is a no-no, and in case a client seems to have had more than what he can handle, the last order can easily be refused – this is a simple rule of living.

Sympathisers would want to say that the staff of the shacks were tired or could not take it anymore, blah, blah, blah… It does not work, because if one is bitten, one does not need to respond in a similar way.

Human reasoning is the best means to use during such instances.

Goa has been earning a bad name of late and these two acts have added to make it worse. Not that the stains are going to last long because the good in Goa is, and has always, overwhelmed all.

The two incidents are, however, an admission that not everything has been going well for the stakeholders – they are not too happy with the returns despite the government ensuring that they were on a roll well ahead of time.

Obviously, expectations were high after the end of the pandemic, or perhaps higher than expected, because the pockets have still not started jingling the way they used to before the start of COVID-19.

Greed is a societal phenomenon that corrodes the patience in many and it is this that leads to situations that make us sit back and reflect after the damage is done.

Whilst the stakeholders are bracing for the problem of low footfalls, the government has been using influencers as punching bags. Whilst the former has strains of truth, the latter amounts to shadowboxing.

Influencers cannot, and are not, capable of disruption because what has to happen will happen, and they, like many others, could well be mere witnesses to what has been destined. Influencing has always been a profession with no merit.

If the footfalls are low, it is because we are not being honest with ourselves, especially of how the industry has been run. When we should have been red flagging this, most preferred to look the other way forgetting the tale of the tortoise and the rabbit.

The peak week may not have been the best, as envisioned by many, but was definitely not bad. Instead of eating loaves, many might have been left with just a loaf. Something is better than nothing and so far, industry stakeholders are left with something substantial.

It is time we understood that we need to bite what we can chew.