The
collapse of Thomas Cook was a shock to the system for the tourism trade in Goa. A large percentage
of the English tourist population that spend time in Goa, would come over on
flights operated by the charter major. It is now a couple of weeks since this
happened and the various parties in Goa have had time to absorb the news and
make necessary moves. Or not. How good or how bad is it going to be this
season? Like everything in Goa, it was an interesting experience as differing
opinions were offered.
Siddharth Savkur who now runs a hospitality management company
in the state after successful tenures in Bhutan where he managed two properties
as CEO of Realm Hospitality and as Regional GM with Alila Hotels Goa prior to
that, had an opinion on what the season would be like. He said “It is common
knowledge that there have been a few challenging seasons for the past few
years. The British tourists were coming and it was stable but the basic
foundation of the Goan season was the domestic tourist. The domestic tourist
has changed the game from a season-based operation to now a year long
operation. This trend has continued and will stay and grow as we go forward.
Yes, there is a price sensitivity with the domestic tourist but that is also a
case with the international tourist who visits Goa. The season will be ok,
nothing special, yes the drop in the number of English tourists will be obvious
but like I said the domestic tourist will pull the season through”.
Reshma Alves the Promoter behind Earthen Experiences which
promotes Goa for long stay clients from the UK was categorical when she said it
was going to be a big hit to the season in the state. She said “Remember there
is no direct access to the state from the countries where the tourists come.
Thomas Cook used to get 5 to 6 flights a week, now it is all via flights which
changes the pricing completely. There will be a very big dent in the English
market for sure”.
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Earnest Dias, Vice President Kuoni Travel India (Pvt) Ltd said
that , a major international charter and tourism operator has now agreed to
increase their number of flights to four from the original three. The problem
he said was that everyone was now looking to milk the cow. Qatar had hiked up
ticket rates. It would be according to him a very tough season and he expected
a drop by approximately 30,000 bookings due to the Thomas Cook situation. Now,
what must be considered is that the facility at Dabolim is operated by the
navy. The navy has been very clear with regards to giving slots to charter
flights. Hence, the numbers targeted depend on slots te flights get.
Savio Messias, President TTAG agrees. He said that Tui or
Thomsun had agreed to put up another flight thus increasing their number of
flights to four per week. This however would depend on whether their third
flight would get a slot. On the score the navy has been holding back
On Tuesday, he along with other members met with the tourism
ministry to resolve the issue but officials from the navy were not present.
Shripad Naik, Union Minister of State and MP from North Goa, had promised to
put in a word with the concerned people in Delhi. The other option was to get
charters who would be willing to come in at night. The afternoon slot is kept
aside for domestic flights and the late evening slots are still open but that
is very difficult for the charters.
Messias finally said “It won’t be a very bad season. It won’t be
an exciting season; it will be an okay season”. The Russians he said were
coming and as per initial indication, it looked good and Polish charters which
were scheduled to come in November would now come in December and Yes, Ukraine
looks good too”.
Perhaps the final word should go to a man who has seen it all
and has been involved in bringing charter flights to Goa in the early days,
Balaram. He did not seem worried and said the domestic market was looking at
Goa with great interest and they were visiting the state in large numbers.
Importantly for the five star properties in the state, MICE had caught on very
fast and the wedding market was booming in the state. Business would be steady
and yes, the English would be missing but there would not be any absence of
business. One would have to fight to get business but it would be present for a
good price.
Perhaps
the average Goan hotelier will hope and pray the Thomas Cook crisis does not
take them down at the end of the season. But hope lies eternal, and closer
home.
