28 Oct 2020  |   03:59am IST

Is Goa ‘shack ready’ for the season?

The shacks are expected to open in the next ten days and they will be expected to follow all the sops and hope the tourists come in large numbers.

Ajit John

The tourist season is almost upon Goa. The domestic market beckons. Now the permissions have been given and the shack owners are busy installing the structures. There are approximately 260 shacks permitted in North Goa and around 96 in the south. The government decided to reduce the fees by fifty percent a demand that was made quite strenuously by the shack owners association.  The sops in place for the functioning of these shacks are pretty strict. 

Cruz Cardozo, President Shack Owners Association said he was very happy things were gradually falling into place. He said “The fee waiver had certainly helped in the decision by many shacks owners to install their structures this year.  We will be following all the sops that are being demanded. We have to be careful for our staff and for our guests.  The latrines will be in place and so will the security cameras. This has been in place for a number of years now”. He felt the charters would start operations in ten days and with no news on the charters, they would have to depend on the domestic tourists. He felt the first charter flights could make it to Goa only in December if they were lucky. He however felt with the domestic tourists coming in such large numbers, business would come to them too. 

Savio Messias has been involved in the hospitality industry for decades and felt it was a good decision but bemoaned the fact that some shacks had become dens of vice. Savio said “Some of them have brought a bad name to the industry. I however feel this year may not be a happy one for them in terms of business.  Many of the shacks are on the beach and during the day the foreigner would spend time on the beach bed and drink and eat there and at night you have the rowdy stag Indian tourist creating a racket. This year, I don’t see these two groups visiting Goa from whom shacks earned a lot of revenue. I am hoping for the best.”  

Rajesh Ranjan has been a senior executive in various hotels in the state as well as a consultant to others and he felt in all his years he had observed that it was a good business. This year however he felt there would be a 60-70 percent dip in business for shacks because charter flights would not be coming in large numbers if they ever came. He however felt if the domestic market learned that shacks were expected to reopen then the domestic tourist could come. 

Nilesh Shah President of TTAG said the shacks would have to follow all the sops and the environmental norms if they wanted to stay in business. He said “Protocols have to be followed and garbage, pollution and sewage have to be handled by the shack owners. That is the only way forward for their survival and of the industry. There cannot be any negotiation. The virus will be present during the season and I strongly believe, we will have to depend on the domestic market. Our source markets abroad are witnessing an increase in the number of cases so getting foreign tourists looks very challenging. Right now it is all about reducing losses. I am happy the shacks are opening and the government accepted their demand for a reduction in rates. Let us all hope for the best.” 

One can only hope those sentiments run true because the shacks are an important part of the tourism experience in the state and one can only hope all the protocols are followed for their own sake and that of the larger industry.