‘People have begun selling idli-sambar at Goan beach shacks. What are you trying to tell tourists?’: BJP MLA Michael Lobo

Lobo also said there has been a “hue and cry” about a decline in tourism in Goa and that “all stakeholders have to bear responsibility”.

“In the coastal belt, whether north or south, there has been a serious decline in tourism and there are a lot of factors for this,” he said.

Foreign tourists who have been coming to Goa for years are continuing to come, but new tourists, specifically youngsters, are going to other destinations, he said.

“The foreign tourist (footfall) has declined. If we do not put systems in place, we will see dark days in the tourism sector in the years to come,” Lobo said.

Arguing that the government alone cannot be blamed for this, the MLA said: “We (the stakeholders) first have to accept that we have erred. We are making mistakes. We started selling idli-sambar at the shacks. This needs to stop. If the shack owners begin to sublet the shacks, then what’s left? I am not against idli-sambar…it is available on the main road. But the cuisine that needs to be served on the beach…that is not there. That is the promotion of Goa… Goan food, and other countries’ cuisine, seafood and continental. This is what the tourists are coming for.”

“Shacks are given to showcase local cuisine and culture… Are we going to show the culture of Hyderabad or Maharashtra or Karnataka on the beach? I am not saying all, but a few (shacks) are spoiling the reputation of the others,” Lobo said.

He called on the tourism department and all stakeholders to sit together and study why more foreign tourists are not coming to Goa.

“Go to Sri Lanka and see the tourism over there. (It is) a country that is far below India in the economic sense. All the tourists who would have come to Goa are going there,” he claimed.

He mentioned the issue of stray dogs on the beaches. “Go to any beach in the world and show me dogs on the beach. The tourism department says it is the job of the animal husbandry (department). The animal husbandry (department) says it is the job of the local village panchayat. There are so many cases of dog bites on the beaches (impacting) foreign tourists,” he said.

He also pointed to issues regarding “clashes” between local taxis and aggregators. “In other countries, they have solved this. The tourists have to go back with good memories,” Lobo said.

He said he has called on the tourism department to cancel licences of shacks that have been “given to outsiders to run”.

“There is no compromise on our beach shacks being sublet to a person from another state,” the MLA said.