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Goa
Goa was one of the first destinations Tourism Concern forged a good working relationship with. There is a strong NGO network there which has campaigned on tourism since charter tourism began in the 1980s. The issues for local people are water, unregulated development, co-option of land, and cultural offence caused by inappropriate behaviour such as nude and topless sunbathing.
Goa has moved from being a hippy destination from the 1960s onwards to a combination of a rave destination, a backpacker's hang-out and a mass tourist destination. It is also now popular amongst Indian tourists - who are often attracted by the western tourists sunbathing!
Our campaign: Tourism Concern lobbied British tour operators using hotels in Goa which contravened environmental regulations. Various hotels were flouting the 200 metre limit on shoreline construction and developments were displacing local people. Tourism Concern lobbied tour operators to question the hotels' practices. This was our first campaign and we successfully introduced British tour operators to the issues, as well as raising an effective media campaign.
More about cultural conflicts and environmental damage
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