Goa has just witnessed yet another change in the way it is projected. The phrase ‘Everything included’ has been replaced by ‘A perfect holiday destination.’ What have been the compulsions behind the constant changes in the positioning of Goa as a destination? What are the implications of the various changes in the brand positioning? What is the image of Goa that the government and industry representatives would like to establish? JONQUIL SUDHIR speaks to industry representatives and tourism mandarins to find out.

Brand Goa is suffering from an identity crisis. From ‘Bahamas of the East’ in the eighties showing women in skimpy clothing, Goa almost became ‘God’s own country’ before advertising gurus came up with the ‘Go Goa’ slogan. Which, to say the least, was redundant because people were going, or rather coming, to Goa in any case. But they only visited the State during particular months in the year, mostly from October to March. So in response to concerns and demands from the tourism industry to project Goa not just as a seasonal, but a year round destination, the spin doctors came up with ‘Go Goa 365 days a year’. The campaign was largely successful with tourism circles acknowledging that occupancy had gone up. The tag line remained the same for two years until the Chambers of Commerce apparently protested that a frivolous image of Goa would run contrary to its efforts to woo fresh investors to Goa and pressured the government to have the line changed.

Once known for its hippies, Goa is now frequented by families and honeymooners.

Simultaneously, it was also observed that Goa was facing stiff competition from South-East Asian tourist destinations. In a knee-jerk reaction, Goa Tourism came up with the new punch line, ‘Everything Included.’ Tourism officials and industry representatives insist that by ‘Everything Included’ they meant packages inclusive of food and recreation of the healthy kind. However, the sub text which was not spelt out in the advertisements or made explicit in the packages was that unlimited alcohol is invariably part of the deal. In fact, liquor is the principle USP in the off season with several hotels and restaurants offering its customers unlimited spirits of the inebriating kind.

Furthermore, ‘Everything Included’ has come in for some serious flak by a number of people who say that the tag line implies that anything and everything, is available in Goa. There is an apprehension that, in it’s overzealousness to promote the state as a tourist destination, the government is compromising its moral image by implying that Goa is another Pattaya. That its image has already been compromised. The proof of this being the manner in which Goans are portrayed in films. As people who eat, drink, party and little else. But Goa is not only about the sun, sea and sand. There is also the toil, sweat and labour. Goans do not earn their money by drinking feni and strutting on the beaches, they work long and hard for their wages. The men do not drink any more than those from Andhra Pradesh or Kerala or any other state or country for that matter and the women are far from being fancy free. And the ‘Everything Included’ advertisement only perpetuated that myth.

But, the tourism industry representatives whom the Goan Observer spoke to insist that there was nothing wrong with advertisement. That it is Bollywood to blame for distorting Goa’s image. Bollywood has perpetuated the stereotype of Goans being prostitutes a la Julie, a safe haven for fugitives from justice a la Bourne Supremacy and drug peddlers a la Jalwa.

Nevertheless, the tag line of the campaign was recently changed to ‘A perfect holiday destination.’ But the constant change in tag lines, representatives in the hospitality industry feel, does not auger well for Goa. Lalit Mishra, General Manager of Cidade de Goa, says there is no consistency in the Tourism Department’s ad campaigns. Making comparisons to Kerala’s hugely successful ‘God’s Own Country’ campaign, Mishra felt that the central theme and image should remain the same to avoid confusion.

However, N Surya-narayana, former Director of Tourism, stated that the campaign does have a central theme. That it was decided from the very beginning that ‘Go Goa’ would be the core concept and the tag lines would be changed depending on the time of year and occasion. But doesn’t that distort Goa’s image?

Several industry representatives don’t think so. The image of Goa and Goans will remain. It is an image that has been built over the years. An image, the core of which is Goa’s cosmopolitan nature, its westernised ambience with a dash of Latin flavour. It is the perfect blend of the East and the West, in culture, architecture and cuisine. While culture and cuisine have been promoted, the government has done little to maintain and highlight Goa’s unique and exquisite heritage structures. A large number of Goans still live in their ancestral homes - unique and exquisite structures, which require a lot of maintenance.

Last year the government introduced a heritage home scheme offering owners loans for renovation work and to maintain their houses. The scheme was envisaged so that these houses could be open to tourists for visitation. It was also proposed that these houses be converted to hotels, rest houses or restaurants. But there have been no beneficiaries of this scheme so far. U.D. Kamat, former director of tourism in Goa and at the centre for several years, feels that the government should pursue cultural or heritage tourism. “During my stint as the Director or Tourism, the budget was limited to Rs. Three crores, so we couldn’t pursue different avenues and had to work within the allotted amount. Now that the budget is ten times that, a lot can be done. It is time to promote culture and heritage.” Something that N Suryarayana says the government is willing to do, but gradually.

Until such time, Satish Prabhu of Hotel Mandovi points out that Goa will continue to be frequented by people from all over the world and the country primarily because of its image. For the foreign tourists, Goa is the place they come to relax and unwind. For the domestic tourists, Goa, unlike their own puritanical states, enables them to let their hair down and enjoy themselves without any inhibitions. And finally it is the image of the people that attract them – warm, friendly and fun loving. But this image of the congenitally fun loving Goan who will break into a song and dance at the drop of a hat is as much a stereotype as the male alcoholic and the female prostitute. Perhaps Mario Miranda, the cartoonist was right in pointing out that Goans have been forced by the image imposed on them to smile and be merry all the time even if their hearts are heavy. Mario Miranda famously compares Goans to Raj Kapoor’s character in Mera Naam Joker – the man who must put on a smiling face even though he is heartbroken because the show must go on.

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