Goa tells foreign tourists: 'No to topless riding on two-wheelers'

New Delhi – First came the ban on bikini ads. Now an advisory has been issued asking foreign tourists visiting the Indian resort state of Goa to dress appropriately and especially not “to ride a two-wheeler without clothes on the upper part of the body” in a bid not to upset the local sensibilities.

In what seems to be a fall out of recent statements by local politicians condemning skimpy dressing by foreigners, the tourism department has come out with a list of 'Dos' and 'Dont's' for the visitors.

The booklet is printed in English and Russian. Of the 400,000 foreigners visiting Goa annually, the British and Russians top the chart followed by Germans. The area gets over 2.4 million visitors each year with increasingly well-paid Indians flocking to the state.

Recommending a dress code, the department has said that while the Goan attitude to informal European styles of dress is generally tolerant, local religious or other sensibilities should be borne in mind.

“If in doubt take local advice especially with regard to topless bathing. Nudity on beaches and public places is strictly forbidden,” the guidelines, which are made available through tourist counters and hotels, read.

Goa Member of Parliament Shantaram Naik recently had alleged that scantily-clad Russians were corrupting the locals.

State Tourism Director Swapnil Naik said that the pocket booklet aims at educating the tourists.

"In America, even if you apply for visa they give you such booklets," he said. The booklet, distributed free of cost, also mentions that riding without helmet is an offense.

The former Portuguese colony is a major tourist spot for overseas -and increasingly Indians-- attracted by its long, sandy beaches, dusk-till-dawn parties and laid-back lifestyle.

Goa came into prominence during the hippie-trail days of the 1950s and 1960s. Now it is the haunt of the back-backers and middle-class foreigners.

October to February each year is the peak tourist months in Goa, with foreigners flocking to the area to beat the cold months in their countries to just lazy around Goa's warm sunny beaches.

But it lacks the spectacle or aura of French Riveria or Monte Carlo, the playground of the rich and famous of the world.

The just-released guide also warns against offers of land sales and modeling contracts, and details strict punishments for drug possession or dealing.

Goa state Hindu rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Laxmikant Parsenkar last week said Russian tourists should “stay for two months, sunbathe, have fun, spend money and go back”.

“The 'susegado' (relaxed) attitude which Goans have is working against us. Goans themselves let out tourism business establishments to foreigners so that they can earn money without doing much,” Parsenkar told reporters.

He suggested that foreign tourists in Goa must have a "minimum dress code" as the clothes they wear "tend to tease".

"At least a minimum dress code is necessary. With the kind of clothes they wear? It tends to tease. Then if something happens, it is splashed in the media," said Parsenkar, a Senator from the coastal constituency of Mandrem in the state legislature.

Parsenkar said he had also received many complaints about nudism in popular beaches like Morjim in his constituency.

"They cannot come here and behave in a culturally insensitive way. These people who roam around here naked and half naked, do not do the same thing in their own country," he said, adding that Goa was the only place on the tourist circuit in India, where foreigners dared to roam around in the nude

Last December, state Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had said that foreign tourists in Goa needed to observe a dress code of some sort.

Last season saw approximately 40,000 Russian tourists flock to Goa, most of whom heading for the beaches of Morjim, Arambol and Ashwem.

The state government in January banned bikini-clad women from their tourism promotions in order to uphold the tourist hotspot as a “family holiday destination”.

The decision was announced after a section of the media criticized the state as a “destination for sex-tourism”, in the wake of several cases of rape of foreign tourists.

State Tourism Minister Fransisco Pacheco said agencies had been notified to desist putting bikini-clad women in their advertisements.

The recent incidents of rape and other sexual crimes have tarnished the image of Goa, which has for years been one of the most favored tourist destinations for both Indian and foreign tourists, and now the state government is trying hard to re-establish the state's image as a tourist hotspot.

According to Indian media reports, Britain has begun advising its nationals to "observe and respect local dress and customs" while visiting Goa.

In a travel advisory uploaded on the foreign Commonwealth office website in late February, female British citizens visiting Goa have been advised to: "Observe and respect local dress and customs and to take particular care," in view of a "series of high-profile incidents in Goa of alleged rape against foreign nationals, including Britons."

With nearly 40,000 British tourists hitting Goa's sunny shores annually, the nation virtually tops the list of countries sending its tourists here.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313887,goa-tells-foreign-tourists-no-to-topless-riding-on-two-wheelers.html.