Ajit John
PANJIM: The headlines have not been very complimentary. Columnists savaging the government for the dramatic drop in the number of tourists visiting the state have been dime a dozen. Reasons were given aplenty, from the Crimean crisis to the falling rouble and to possibly the gaze of the Indian male. However what was glaring was the absence of analysis as to why this had happened and if there were any conclusions that could be perhaps gleaned from this sorry state of affairs.
Nikhil Desai, managing director GTDC playing the role of the contrarian said “We had a good season till November, we got hit in December.”
Since the commencement of the facility to provide visa’s on arrival he said Goa had benefited tremendously. Since November, Goa stands third in the country with regards to welcoming foreign tourists coming into the country.
According to data provided by Tourism Authority in the capital, Delhi was at top with 35.7%, Mumbai second with 21.05% and Goa at three with 18.24%.
The state he said had played host to over four lakh tourists over the Diwali weekend. December he said was a low blow for those who had depended on the charter business. The noise he said was generated by them, the figure of a drop of 45% was given by them. He said “When you depend on one country to meet your targets then there is a serious problem. They have to look at other markets, they have to spread it wide out there otherwise this will happen yet again when there is some geopolitical problem.”
The state he said would have to push for a greater share of the MICE market. Asked if the hoteliers in the state had gotten too confident of Goa’s position in the global tourist space and priced themselves out he said the tourism market was dynamic and it was important to be aware of the evolving situation while pricing.
The days he said of customers paying the price demanded by the hotelier were long gone. This then raised the question whether hotels in the state needed to revisit their pricing policy.
Francisco de Braganca of the TTAG said the reasons for the poor season are otherwise than the tariffs in Goa. The ostensible reason is the fall in the rouble on accountof the Ukranian season. There are other local reasons like garbage, poor state of beach shacks, drinking of alcohol on the beaches, all male groups of tourists ogling women, by virtue of which the over all holiday experience is severely affected. Lowering the tariffs will not help and bring in more tourists of the wrong kind.”
This however was not the view of some others in the industry. Bobby Saxena of The Crwon said it was very important that a sane pricing strategy be created where by, even during the season, the paying customer did not feel cheated.
He said “The rates during the offseason are so low that it is ridiculous. The same hotels then try to rob you during the season. Why cant hotels have a policy where by there may be a rate during the season where the customer does not go away feeling that something is just not right.”
Jacob John of Whispering Palms felt that as lifestyles changed and prosperity increased the demands of the paying consumer had evolved.
This explained the growth of four star resorts in the state. Resorts that provided value for money without hurting the pocket were the way forward. Today he said there were special offers everywhere for every kind of traveller and it was important to be able to live in such a market. It was he said very important to manage revenue.
Today he said the hospitality industry was about people who wanted money immediately which would never work. Rohit Vernekar of La Suni Clarks said it was very important that hotels reworked their pricing.
He said “We have to do it. You are stating the obvious truth. This cannot continue”.
Another senior professional who did not want to be named said it was a very touchy subject that no one really wanted to handle because they generally felt that the people would come to Goa and pay whatever the price was. It would he said require a change in mindset which had to be done fast if they had to stay in the business.
Asked if boutique hotels and smaller hotels would play a prominent role in the tourism sector in the years to come, Francisco de Braganca said “You are spot on. The future lies in boutique and smaller including heritage hotels, which hotels on account of smaller inventory have a sustaining power and will offer a better Goan experience and superior hospitality. They will provide a personalised service which will bring in a higher quality of tourists. The Government needs to facilitate the growth of these hotels.”
A view several other hoteliers agreed on but were reluctant to come on record given the status of their current employers.
