IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 19, Issue 10, Ver. I (Oct. 2014), PP 36-41 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 36 | Page Goa: Tourism and Socio-Cultural Implications A Study Of Selected Tourist Destination of South Goa District, Goa-India *Kailash Gokhale, ** Dr.Nandkumar Sawant, *** Nitesh Ugavekar, * Statistician, Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao-Goa ** Head & Vice-Principal, Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao-Goa ***Research Assistant, Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao-Goa Abstract: Tourism, as a social event, brings a transformation in the society, due to long guest, host association but many times, tourist destinations remain as image unique cultural identity. Goa, a beach tourist destination in India, is one of the most preferred tourist destination that has witnessed the pros and cons of tourism. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the perceptions of cultural change at selected tourist destinations of South Goa district, Goa- India. The following study is purely field based, where in 337 responded were surveyed through a questionnaire at six coastal tourist destination, where tourism is the prime activity. The analysis reveals that majority of the respondents agree that there is positive as well as negative impacts due to tourism. Further, Factor analysis resulted in four tourism-related factors: Cultural Enhancement, Adverse Effects and Economic Developments & Threat to the local culture. I. Introduction Tourism is very much part of the globalisation process. It is genuinely a powerful and a unique force for change in the community (McLeod. D, 2006). Therefore Understanding the local basis of tourism is especially important in a globalised situation as it enable to discern the local processes that are consequently affected, causing the stakes to become intensely and actively felt (Nairy K S, 2003). Thus tourism may have different effects on the social and cultural aspects of life in a particular region depending on the strengths of the region. Fariborz Aref et al (2009) observed that the community has positive perceptions toward economic and environmental impacts of tourism with only minor differences at old and new Districts of Shiraz, Iran. Were as Ekrem Tatoğlu et el (2002) by taking the Case of Kusadasi in Turkey, states that the most strong and favorable perceptions toward tourism impacts are found to be associated with economic, social and cultural aspects of tourism, while environmental matters are found to be the least favorable. Sami Alhasanat (2008) studied the local community in Petra, Jordan, reveals that attitudes towards tourism varied with respect to people’s dependency on tourism. Illiterate people have more positive perception than highly educated people. Whereas Teye, V. et al (2002) shows that residents’ expectations from tourism development were not met and individuals working in tourism related businesses have negative attitudes toward this industry at Cape Coast and Elmina, Ghana. Whereas Mostafa Mohammadi (2010) has observed that a high percentage of the respondents recognizes and appreciates the positive impacts of tourism towards the local people in cultural heritage destination of Kermanshah, Iran. J. Haley (2004) et al have studied host perceptions of impacts tourism at Bath, United kingdom believing that tourism is predominantly descriptive and lacking in a consistent approach to measurement. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to gauge socio-cultural impacts using statistical technique. Tourism In Goa Tourism has emerged as the foremost industry in the post globalisation era and it is driver for the Socio-economic and environmental transformation. This can be gauged from the fact that there has been an increase in the employment opportunities. Presently, tourism contributes approximately 34 per cent of the State Domestic Product, providing employment to nearly 30 per cent of the total workforce (Economic survey 2011- 12). Goa is popularly known for Sun, sand, and Sea (Sawant. 2013) but also a great repository of varied cultural forms. The State has a growing interest in the promotion of various forms of arts and hence its cultural ethos has lead to fostering social understanding and emotional integration among the people of the State. Goa’s tourism dates back to 1970’s when group of ―Hippies‖ invaded the Goan beaches, the number then counted in few thousands, but over the passage of time, the numbers have multiplied. In 2003, around 20.3lakh tourists arrived in Goa which is more than the state’s population and this number has scaled to 27 lakh last years an increased by seven percent. With 110 kilometer coastline, there are more than 40 beaches that are