Are Goans Rude? After 'Empty' Roads During Holidays, New Debate Props Up On Social Media

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Goa is a major tourist attraction for Indians, especially during New Year. But, in the past few days, the state gained attention for all the wrong reasons. Goa has been at the centre of social media debates. The new topic of discussion is: "Are Goans rude?"

Around New Year's Eve, many on social media highlighted unusually "empty" roads in the beach city, contrary to "jampacked" streets witnessed during the previous years' New Year celebrations. However, a few people denied the claims, saying, "Goa is fully packed."

Skyrocketing hotel prices, airfares , and "taxi mafia" took equal blame for Goa's apparent "deserted look" during this New Year.

"Why need to go to Goa when u have the beaches of Pattaya and Bali and Hanoi available at half the price, only thing extra u need is a valid passport," a social media user had said.

Many also complained of the "lack of cleanliness" and "rude behaviour" of service providers towards tourists in Goa. Meanwhile, others countered them, calling out“unruly tourists”. The death of a 30-year-old Andhra Pradesh man during a "drunken brawl at a beach shack in Goa" in the first week of January was cited as an example.

Reacting to the news, one social media user said,“Dear Indians #BoycottGoa, If you don't wanna get killed then stop visiting Goa, Goa has become hub of murderers and rowdies, they start to extort from tourists and rowdism by shack employees, taxis and local pubs and restaurants is everywhere. Goa police is hopeless [sic].”

A social media user named Prashanth Kini alleged last week that the "downfall of tourism in Goa is due to rude behaviour towards tourist by certain localities."

He posted on X,“In present times, some Goans are behaving like Maldivians....Many Goans hate tourists...GOA lacks cleanliness...Narrow roads to prominent Beaches...Lack of infrastructure Developments in tourist destinations...Pile of scraps in front of most of the residential and Tourist destinations. Poor traffic management and parking facilities [sic].”

Meanwhile, another user posted,“Goa is dead because of goans I say . They are rude and aggressive towards tourists. They extort money from tourist while transporting them, lodging and boarding them. There is minimal infrastructure whole they demand the price of Havana [sic].”

Akshat Shrivastava, an X user who moved to Goa, acknowledged there's a "problem" in Goa, "especially for Tourists". He said, "...commenting on Goans [as rude] is outright wrong" as he has met some of the kindest people in the town. He hoped“that relevant authorities do something about it.”

But another social media user objected to his comments, saying. "Stop lying Akshat. I have faced first hand abuses in Goa multiple times. I have travelled many states of India. No state people are as rude as Goan people."

Meanwhile, one Shefali Vaidya not only backed claims about the "taxi mafia and the rude behaviour of service providers in Goa" but also highlighted the "obnoxious behaviour of the Ugly Domestic Tourist."

She point-by-point addressed the problems raised by social media users and tourists in Goa. "There are two sides to everything. Respect is earned mutually," she said.

Vaidya recalled her conversation with a driver in Goa , who told her how "most of the tourists who come to Goa, particularly from the North, come for only two reasons: cheap booze and casinos."

"He said he doesn't take late-night bookings from the beach belt because invariably, all the tourists, whether men or women, are punch drunk, rude and looking for a brawl. Some have even puked in his car, and when he asked for money to get the car cleaned, they refused and picked a fight," Vaidya wrote on X.

She alleged that the behaviour of tourists sometimes hurts the sentiments of locals. "Many domestic tourists who come to Goa wear revealing clothes which are perfectly okay on the beach and in the pubs or casinos, but they rent bikes and go to villages, village functions and walk around in the same outfits. For all its western image, Goan society is still deeply conservative as far as the culture is concerned and the locals do not like this," she wrote.

She even clarified a perception“that Goans are rude because they speak Hindi using 'tu tadak' which the North Indians find offensive.”

"But they do not understand one important cultural fact, that Konkani is a very informal language and there is no Aap in it. Goans call their CM also 'tu' in actual conversation. They use the same syntax in Hindi and say 'tumko kidhar jana hai', they don't mean to be rude, they are merely being as informal as they are in Konkani," Vaidya said.

On the issue of cleanliness, Vaidya said,“Litter is a big problem in Goa, I agree, but tourists are more responsible for it than locals. Many domestic tourists have zero civic sense and they leave their litter on the beaches and public places.”

"There are lifeguards present on every beach in Goa, but so many times I have seen drunk gangs of tourists completely disregarding their instructions and whistling and going into the water despite warnings. When the lifeguards then raise their voice, the tourists say they are being rude!," she said.

A person commenting on Vaidya's post said, "...local population has to bear the brunt if they want income from tourism. nothing comes free." She responded,“...local population does NOT have to bear the brunt, there IS something called as 'responsible tourism'.”

Ahead of New Year's Day, a 30-year-old visitor from Andhra Prades was killed in a drunken brawl at a beach shack in Goa. Police said a group of inebriated tourists demanded food at the shack despite its owner informing them that the kitchen was closed.

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