The month of March will be one of revelry for tourists visiting Goa, starting with carnival, moving on to Holi and then the end of the academic year. The crowds have started swelling on the beaches and once again the volume of visitors is so huge that east can be seen walking in step with the west.
Adrian from the UK and Gitesh from North India have met for the first time and are on a stroll from one end of a South Goa beach to the other. To the few observing them, they appear to be old friends sharing notes on a sunny evening.
As they traverse through different villages, the two share thoughts on life in other cities of India and what makes Goa different and special. “Work is more laborious in other parts of India,” Adrian tells Gitesh, whilst the latter thinks it has more to do with the weather.
“I think,” says Gitesh, “Goans are different from the rest of India because they were never under the rule of the English. The mindset of the English is different from the Portuguese and that is translated in the people of Goa and the rest of India.”
After the two-hour walk, they stop for a beer at a shack and with a sandwich the topic veers around food. Adrian likes Indian food but without the spices and that for Gitesh is as good as not having Indian food.
“When I order fish, I wanted to taste the fish and not the spices. Fish meat has its own taste and that is what I love to savour,” says Adrian. “Just like the meat,” he goes on to add and explains, “Spices rob any meat of its taste. In the end, we end up liking the taste of the spices and not of the meat.” To a point, Gitesh agrees but goes on to rub the virtues of spices.
Tourism after the pandemic has shifted focus with the emphasis on good living and at many beaches along the coast foreigners and Indians are turning to yoga. “It is a good mind control exercise. I see a difference in my mental health after just a week of yoga on the beach,” admits Stephanie as she and her friends finish a session.
“Yoga for me is a type of meditation. It helps me keep my energies under control for a major part of the day and seems to spill the stress out of the way. Anxiety disappears,” says Stephanie as she sips from her water bottle.
For most domestic tourists, Goa is still about beaches. “The quality of your sand and water is different from ours. Your sand is smooth and your water is soft unlike ours. And off course, the booze is very cheap and unregulated here,” says Sankit as he strolls along with his colleague.
And stakeholders are smiling again. “The New Year has been good as far as business is concerned. We have had tourists coming from all over India and the world. People coming now are spenders and the pre-Christmas gloom seems to have disappeared,” believes restaurateur Eloy.
“It now appears that people have begun loosening their purse strings and are moving with less fear and more adventure,” he believes.
As long as the adventure is safe and leaves neither the host nor the guest harmed, the 2024-25 tourism season may just be the balm the industry has been waiting for.