The Award Is A Perfect Motivator That We Are On The Right Track Toward Success

N Suryanarayana, director, department of tourism, government of Goa, in conversation with Reema Sisodia highlights the success of the state in the area of tourism and identifies the reason behind the success of Goa as a popular tourism destination

What does the award mean to you?

The award is a testament to our efforts in making Goa more accessible to a much wider and global audience. It is an achievement that is highly encouraging for our entire team that has worked hard towards making Goa a top of the mind destination for visitors both national and international. The year round `Go Goa' campaign as well as the development in the state infrastructure is yielding rich dividends. For us at Goa tourism, this is indeed just the beginning.

What according to you is the secret of your success?

Putting Goa on the map as a 365 day holiday destination has been a big contributor to our success. We have managed to bring out the true and splendid beauty of Goa during the rains and putting right the negative perception that the tourists had about Goa during the rains as being rather unexciting. During the holiday season namely, April and May, we have focused on the family traveller as a potential segment. Advertisements in the year 2003 were directed specially at the domestic travellers. Celebrities were chosen as brand ambassadors to promote Goa as their favourite holiday destination all year round. We also introduced direct response contests where we give the winners a chance to enjoy a royal experience at one of the many exotic hotels in Goa. Apart from this, various facets of Goa such as romance, fun, sports, culture and heritage were showcased through the media both print and visual.

How do you plan to retain the success bestowed on the organisation?

We just cannot afford to rest on our laurels. An award brings with it greater responsibilities. Each year we strive to do better than the year that went by and the upcoming year promises to be no different. We have set our targets for the year ahead and we aim to achieve our goals through special planning and concrete and focused action.

What are the future plans of the organisation?

In the year 2004, Goa plans to go international targeting primarily European and Scandinavian countries. As part of our communication strategy, media vehicles such as the BBC and CNN are under consideration, owing to their wider reach in countries such as America, Europe and other foreign destinations. This year we also hope to promote and nurture the culture and heritage of Goa while at the same time sustaining tourism development by making good use of readily available resources. Combining the different facets of Goa and developing them to blend within a cosmopolitan environment and modern lifestyle, we hope to generate a positive disposition of international tourists towards Goa. Through our strategic planning we want to introduce visitors to intriguing elements of Goa's heritage and culture as well as creating opportunities for them to learn about the different aspects of everyday Goa life. Besides all this, we plan to look beyond just leisure tourism and promote Goa as an ideal destination for business travellers as well. Goa is also on its way to promote art by being selected as the permanent destination for the International Film Festival of India. This is expected to be another tourist attraction. Participation in exhibitions and trade events with presentations will also be considered in regions such as London, Moscow, Spain, Germany and other tourist destinations on the world map.

We also hope to introduce man made attractions in the state by developing state of the art theme parks, convention and exhibition centres, family entertainment centres and parks on the lines of the Santosa Islands in Singapore, which in turn will give Goa a status as an all in one destination going beyond the sun sand and sea perception.