Beside Vasco da Gama’s tomb, 500 years later: A story of neglected opportunities to lure foreign tourists

On Christmas Eve, I discovered myself in Fort Kochi—a full of life beachfront enclave in Kerala’s coastal metropolis the place artwork, tradition, delicacies and historical past seamlessly merge into an symphony. A fast, 20-minute journey on an air-conditioned water metro, with a modest `50 ticket in hand, transported me to a wholly completely different world—a cultural mosaic formed by the Portuguese, Dutch and British legacies.What immediately caught my consideration have been the charming bylanes with curious names: Princess Road, Napier Road and Peter Cell Road, all dotted with elegant European-style houses. On the centre of it stood a sq. named after Vasco da Gama, a determine plucked straight out of my college historical past books.

I made my strategy to St Francis Church, one in all Kerala’s oldest church buildings, the place the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was laid to relaxation for 14 years till his son, Petro de Silva da Gama, carried his mortal stays again to Portugal. Inside, an enclosure marked by a signboard studying “Vasco da Gama Tomb” caught my eye. Taking a seat on a close-by picket bench, I started googling the famed navigator, solely to be shocked by an sudden revelation—da Gama died in Kochi on December 24, 1524.

“OMG! I’m right here precisely 500 years after his dying!” I believed. But, nobody round me, not even the information enthusiastically narrating da Gama’s story to a bunch of German vacationers, appeared conscious of the importance of that day.Why had the federal government shied away from turning this important milestone into a chance to draw European vacationers, particularly Portuguese, to India this winter? In any case, da Gama stays a celebrated determine in Portugal, with bridges and procuring centres bearing his identify in Lisbon.

True, da Gama, like many European colonisers, carries a contested legacy. To some, he’s a pirate and imperialist, exploiting communities alongside the Malabar coast for mercenary beneficial properties. However 77 years after India’s independence, isn’t it time to maneuver past such historic grievances and harness the myriad colonial legacies scattered throughout the nation to draw overseas vacationers?

Are our central and state tourism departments crafting recent, compelling narratives, or are they nonetheless clinging to previous slogans like Unbelievable India and God’s Personal Nation?

The indicators aren’t encouraging. From anecdotal experiences of Goa’s iconic seashores struggling to attract overseas vacationers to exhausting authorities information displaying a decline in overseas arrivals, the message is obvious: India’s tourism sector wants a daring, inventive overhaul. For the file, solely 4.7 million overseas vacationers visited India between January and June 2024, a ten% drop over the corresponding interval in pre-Covid 2019.

NEGLECTED HISTORY

Whereas reporting close to the IndiaBhutan border two years in the past, I got here throughout a sight that left me shocked. In a village in Assam’s Gossaigaon subdivision , locals had turned the steam engines of a historic British-era tramway into racks to dry garments. The tramway, established in 1901, as soon as hauled logs of sal, velkor and different varieties. A long time of neglect meant most of its rails have been stolen or discarded. Simply two forlorn engines stay as relics of a bygone period.

This website lies adjoining to Raimona National Park, which shares a contiguous forest belt with Bhutan’s Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary. Right here, wildlife fanatics courageous jungle roads to catch a glimpse of the elusive golden langur, a species as uncommon as it’s mesmerising.

Why wouldn’t the authorities restore this vintage tramway and rework it right into a vacationer attraction? Think about the attract of an deserted tramline paired with the attraction of encountering a golden langur — an ideal mix of historical past and nature ready to be rediscovered.

Additional east, atop a hillock about 20 km southwest of Imphal in Manipur, historical past echoes on the location of a ferocious World Conflict II conflict between Japanese and Allied forces.

Generally known as Purple Hills, this battlefield noticed its legacy honoured in 2019, on the seventy fifth anniversary of the battle, with the inauguration of a peace museum, supported by Japan’s Nippon Basis.

The occasion was graced by distinguished company, together with the then Japanese ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu and UK excessive commissioner Dominic Asquith, underscoring the shared dedication to reconciliation. Close by, a peace memorial constructed by the Japanese authorities bears a poignant inscription, my favorite: “This monument will stand as a prayer for peace.”

Ought to India dismiss the reminiscences of World Conflict II merely as a result of it’s usually labelled as a battle of colonial powers? Or, ought to Manipur’s Purple Hills be reimagined as a pilgrimage website, drawing Japanese and British vacationers to honour a shared historical past of sacrifice and reconciliation?

The truth that overseas vacationer arrivals to India are lagging prepandemic ranges, even amid the worldwide wave of a so-called revenge journey, ought to function a wake-up name. Let’s not overlook: the tourism sector sustains 45 million jobs and contributes 6.8% to our GDP. It’s time to maneuver past drained slogans and embrace a dynamic method to draw overseas guests and reinvigorate this important trade.

Let the remnants of our colonial previous earn us a share of the worldwide vacationer greenback.