TEAM HERALD
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
PANJIM: In a bid to make up for a bad start to the tourist season, hoteliers are keeping room tariffs under control to end the season on a high, with a deluge of tourists expected for the Carnival.
The tourism industry is in an upbeat mood as the Carnival promises to rejuvenate the season after close to four months of disappointment and gloom. Already the North Goa coastal belt Goa has reported 80 percent bookings for the carnival weekend (February 9 to 10), while many reputed hotels have closed inventories for the entire carnival period from February 9 to 12.
Hoteliers are keeping their fingers crossed over the last minute rush for Carnival, hoping that their rooms will be booked to capacity by Friday.
“Any adverse publicity would create a problem for the hotel industry and carnival is the only big event before the season closes where one can make up for the bad start in September and the bad spell in December,” said a North Goa hotelier with a 25 room resort at Calangute.
The scenario is similar in South Goa, with hotel inventories filling up every passing hour.
Stakeholders in the hotel industry are confident that business during the Carnival would rake in profits even though no special packages are being offered to woo tourists. “In fact the same discounts of upto 30 percent that were offered at Christmas and New Year are being offered at Carnival,” said Ashwin Agarwal, manager of a four starred Baga resort.
The rush continues to be reported from within India and foreign tourist arrivals are showing only a marginal increase.
With air and bus fares still high, industry watchers feel that tourists from neighbouring states will drive to Goa for the Carnival in private vehicles, having enjoyed cheap holidays here in the past, with absolute chaos ~ no parking fees, no restrictions on cooking on footpaths and fields, wanton disposal of garbage, open defecation, sleeping in gardens and drinking in just about any public place.
The tourism ministry which is aware of this nuisance have not stated how low end tourist would be dealt with.
The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) is also optimistic that the Carnival will augur well for the tourism season in terms of international arrivals, especially after the huge publicity and media campaigns carried out since last month.
On the other hand, shack operators still continue to lament over the poor season for this tourism related segment. Cruz Cardozo, heading the association, said, “Carnival may draw tourists but not foreign tourists who are our clientele.” Cardozo pointed out that domestic tourists don’t come to shacks and in fact bring food and eat it on the beach.
The spokesperson for TTAG, Ralph D’Souza, said, “We have seen an increase in the number of charters this month,” adding further that a number of big events being held in Goa since the beginning of this month has brought in a lot of visitors and the carnival hype and festive mood that has already set in, is making visitors to Goa extend their stay, at the same time drawing in more visitors.
