Assessment of marine litter from Goa, India and its impact on visitor satisfaction

This study establishes a vital baseline for marine litter across Salcete taluka, South Goa, revealing a stark disconnect between environmental awareness and tourist behavior. The data identifies domestic waste, recreational tourism, and fishing as the primary pollution drivers. Colva beach emerged as the most critical hotspot, accounting for 67% of the total collected litter mass and displaying alarming instances of medical waste. This extreme concentration highlights severe gaps in local solid waste management infrastructure.Perception surveys reveal that visitor satisfaction is dictated by a complex mix of demographics and expectations. A clear behavioral divide exists: beach litter is predominantly generated by domestic tourists rather than local residents. Furthermore, while foreign tourists express a proactive willingness to participate in clean-ups, a passive 46% of total respondents remain only "somewhat concerned" about cleanliness, despite high general familiarity with plastic pollution (48.86%). Ultimately, reactive measures like periodic beach clean-ups offer only short-term relief. Mitigating Goa's marine litter crisis requires the strict regional enforcement of robust waste management policies. The baseline data provided by this study serves as a framework to deploy adaptation-centric complementary strategies, focusing on cultivating accountability among domestic travelers, upgrading public sanitation, and implementing proactive, long-term coastal preservation frameworks.

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