Mr Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena, the first and the only non-European to be elected as the President of the prestigious Hotel Catering International Management Association (HCIMA), was in Goa to launch the Goa chapter of the organisation. In an exclusive interview to AGNELO RODRIGUES, he pointed out some areas that Goa could improve upon to make it the most sought after tourism destination.

WHAT BENEFIT WILL Goa and Goans enjoy with the opening of the Hotel Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) chapter in Goa?

It’s an excellent way of networking and expanding the horizon in the industry. My first impression of this group in Goa is that they are well organised and consists of people who know each other very well. The growth of the affiliate depends a lot on the local membership.

Our head office which is in London doesn’t instruct the branch people as to what to do. Only some guidelines are supplied but the rest is left upto the group. Some groups publish book, annual exhibitions etc. This should be driven from the needs of the region or the country.

In what way can HCIMA help the industry?
If undertaken properly it can be a major lobbying group to help the growth of tourism in the region depending on the politico socio environment. In Maldives if the HCIMA group says something it is taken very seriously by the politicians and the public sector. Another place where HCIMA commands good response is in Sri Lanka. There are three different organisation that meet on a single platform. The alumni of catering colleges forms one group, the owners of the resorts another and the third consists of members of HCIMA. Together they are the decision makers with regards to tourism in the country. This too can happen in Goa.

What are the changes Goa needs to do to attract ‘high-end’ tourists?
Even in the Caribbean it is the same story. They say they are fed up with the majority of the tourists they get and want to target the high spending tourists. According to me, the whole industry is like a pyramid. In the Caribbean you have the mass tourists, the cruises passengers, at the bottom of the pyramid who form the bulk They spend only about nine hours in the country, they do not pay much taxes and hoteliers are always complaining about them.

A step higher, you have the All-inclusive plan package, inclusive means food and beverages. This is availed of mostly by the Americans. They do not see the destination that much. From the airport they land at the hotel and then may be they go on one excursion. Over this category are the top resorts, which are frequented predominately by Europeans. These tourists contribute more to the local community. Though besides the cruise passengers other tourist are not clubbed as low budget tourists, according to me all this three segments form the category of “mass tourists”.

As the pyramid goes up the numbers also go down. Then it is the Special Interest tourist, those that are interested in culture, sports, local areas of excellence like medicine maybe Ayurveda, herbal medicines, etc. They are good spenders and the local community earns a lot more from these tourists.

The topmost slot is taken by the hardcore Eco-tourists. They are the educated high class tourist. But though everyone wants them, they cannot support the industry. How can you get only the topmost? My theory is that the ‘mass tourist’ is equally necessary as the ‘eco-tourist’. Every country has a wide range of products to offer and so all are necessary unless the country doesn’t want a particular segment like say the hippies. For a state like yours you can do it but I suggest that it is better to convert the Special Interest tourist to Eco-tourists and likewise.

The general trend is that people who visit the Caribbean on a cruise the first time, if they like the country, come again on an All-inclusive package. Then they graduate to Resort stay.

You can learn from the Caribbean. Seventy percent of their tourists come from America. But after the September 11th episode, it has become a very sensitive market. So now they spend a lot of money attracting the Europeans who stay longer unlike the American who spends only about a week. If you are doing well with the British you should now try to tap the Far Eastern countries like Japan, Malaysia. And Goa has an advantage, it sounds sexier (not in a negative way), more different and more colourful. That is the impression I get.

How can Goa compete with other tourist destinations?
Based on what I have learnt from my colleagues and because of the Goans I have met abroad I was under the impression that Goa had a more mature product. But it is still in the early stages, which is a good thing because Goa can learn from other destination, especially the Caribbeans.

Though Sri Lanka is a small place it looks at tourism in a very big way. Unfortunately with ethnic wars it did not get the benefit. If not for that Sri Lanka would have done extremely well by now. You have so many diverse products in India. For the Maldives it needs a country like India or Sri Lanka to give that added twist to their product. If an European wants to get lost in an island, Maldives is fantastic. The people are down to earth and the serenity is great. And even the Caribbean is nothing compared to the Maldives in that respect. But it has nothing else. After a few days you tend to get bored. It makes sense for them to do twin destination marketing to either India or Sri Lanka.

In case of Goa you do not need to do that. You have everything you need in one country. Goa should be marketed as a hub for tourism in India. You spend two weeks in Goa then move to Delhi, Agra etc. That’s the way forward. Maybe you need a better airport.

The Film Festival is a good idea. One should not depend totally on the natural assets of the product like the beaches or the historical assets. You should create some other avenues during the lean seasons. Goa has vast potential in that area.

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