TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2024
Ajit John
Goa is playing host to another celebrity marriage these days. Rakul Preet Singh is getting married to Jackky Bhagnani in a plush destination wedding. They will yet be another in a long line of celebrities who celebrated their wedding in Goa. Actress Mouni Roy and Suraj Nambiar tied the knot in January 2022. Samantha Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya were wed in 2017. The Lara Dutta-Mahesh Bhupati wedding took place in 2011. Yuvraj Singh married Hazel Keech in Goa. Now the question that needs to be asked is if Goa continues to be favourite for celebrities and regular folk looking for a destination wedding or are things changing on the ground?
Members of the wedding planning community had several views on the situation and were quite cogent in their replies. Mark Rodrigues of Crafting Memories, a company based in Margao said there were enquiries for weddings in Goa from the US and the UK. All were NRI and had contacted them via social media. Most of them started off with a two-day schedule but over time were open to three-days because of the hectic nature of the occasion. He said budgets would vary depending on the location selected and the star of the hotel. Some parties he said wanted a minimal look while others wanted a lavish affair. Some were Goans, he said who had relatives in the State. Business, he said, was decent but he expected a dip to happen in the near future. He said, “Thailand is turning out to be a very attractive proposition for many people. Goa is getting expensive by the day from the taxis to the number of licensees required by the government. It is getting difficult for the clients to spend money on unnecessary things instead of the wedding.”
Ritu Mago of Ritu Mago Wedding and Events said that Goa was playing host to celebrity weddings but the ideal venue for such weddings was Rajasthan. It was formal and very royal. Goa, she said, was ideal for beach weddings and was associated with fun and frolic. Goa was a venue for destination weddings with 60 percent of her clients being NRI and the rest from cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. She said weddings in Goa were getting expensive and this was something that the hotels and the government needed to pay attention to otherwise business would move to places like Sri Lanka and Thailand. The money was almost the same and it was abroad. She said most of her clients wanted a two-day affair and depending on the hotel and a crowd of 200 guests, the budget could be a minimum of 50-60 lakhs and above with a major chunk going for the hotel and food. She worked all over and in Goa, this year, she had done 12-14 weddings with most of them being NRI’s.
Dennis Figueiredo of WedKraft International said weddings were an important part of the business. He said the fact that Goa had two airports certainly helped. After Covid, Goa was the only destination in the country for a beach wedding. There were venues emerging in Kerala and Tamil Nadu but lacked the infrastructure that existed in Goa. He said, “Goa is in the top three destinations for a destination wedding with Rajasthan also in the running but offering an entirely different experience.” He however advised caution; he said that Thailand and Bali were bigger and were very attractive locations. Goa was getting expensive every year with the number of licensees increasing which would kill the golden goose. The cost of flights, to Thailand and Bali were not much and were usually slightly more expensive for a ticket to Goa. And then he said the cost of hotels, licensees, taxis were all high.
Valley D’Silva of Kiara Events said Goa was still a great destination for weddings but would have to compete with places like Bali and Thailand in the near future. Most of his clients he said came from the UK, USA and Spain and wanted a three day affair. He also crafted a plan based on the clients needs and kept out stuff that was not wanted. He said budgets would easily go above Rs 50 lakhs and above. Speaking about celebrity weddings, he said they usually happen in Jaipur and Udaipur or abroad.
Abhishek Kumar Singh of Big Fat Weddings said Goa was a beautiful destination but expressed concern saying it would soon lose its charm since things were changing on the ground. He said, “Other locations like the Lakshadweep are now opening up and will certainly pull business from Goa. These places will be easier for the clients to handle because they will be willing to offer the clients what it is they want. Goa, however, has many things going for it and will continue to be the place for destination weddings for the next 8 years. Now the prices in Goa are increasing but if it can be managed, Goa will continue to be the venue of choice in my lifetime. Currently, Goa is the only location but Puri is the other location that is coming up. Several North Indian clients find that place attractive.” He said another challenge had emerged with countries in South East Asia opening up to Indians and offering visas on arrival. They were cheaper and many people were very interested in going to Bali and Phuket. “Budgets in Goa could be anywhere between Rs 1.5 crore to 10 crores. It would be interesting to see how the market evolves in the years ahead,” adds Abhishek.
Goa will continue to attract couples from all over the world keen on marrying on its beautiful beaches but with new competition emerging, it will be important to watch them closely and make the necessary changes if possible. Time will tell how it will all work out.
