PANAJI
In a tale of two grand spiritual events, Goa’s decennial exposition of St Francis Xavier’s relics and Uttar Pradesh’s Maha Kumbh Mela, both highlight deep religious significance and align with major festival dates – SFX Feast on December 3 and Makar Sankranti on January 14 respectively. Yet, while Uttar Pradesh has leveraged digital platforms to global acclaim even before the Maha Kumbh’s beginning, Goa seems to have missed the moment.
On the opening day of the Maha Kumbh on Monday, an estimated 1.5 crore devotees thronged the sacred Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj for a holy dip. Over the event’s 45-day span, 45 crore visitors are expected, making it the largest religious congregation.
The scale is matched by the event’s digital presence with the UP government setting up dedicated social media platforms to share live updates, organize interactive engagements and draw global audiences.
In stark contrast, Goa’s decennial SFX exposition, though attended by an estimated 75 lakh pilgrims over 40 days, allegedly failed to capitalize on digital outreach to promote religious/spiritual tourism.
The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) conceded Goa lost the opportunity. “We should have marketed the Exposition better in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries where SFX has a huge following,” TTAG President Jack Sukhija said, speaking to The Goan.
The Tourism Department’s late realization of the power of social media came too little, too late. By that time social media influencers were roped in to counter the already viral negative narratives about Goa’ the SFX Exposition already missed its chance to create a global buzz on the religious front.
Former TTAG President Savio Messias admitted that while social media efforts for the SFX Exposition were not up to the mark, more troubling setbacks like the lack of central government funding and uncertainty over the Pope’s visit dealt major blows to the event’s promotion.
“SFX Exposition could have been marketed better but challenges hampered promotional efforts… The Pope's absence was another setback. Social media engagement, admittedly, was below par,” Messias said.
