18 Feb 2020  |   03:49am IST

When the virus builds a great wall for Chinese tourists, even to Goa

The irony couldn’t have been more stark. A little over a month ago, the Travel and Tourism Authority of Goa was getting ready to welcome a Chinese delegation to explore how Goa as a destination could be marketed in China in order to boost tourist arrivals from China. The Corona Virus has totally changed the scenario. Late last week a Chinese person from UK, with a confirmed booking in a starred hotel was turned away. While safety is paramount, will such acts, impact the already hit tourism sector in Goa? Can we maintain a better balance between health protection and excessive panic?

Ajit John

This Chinese national who had stayed in the UK for two

months had flown into Mumbai on business. He then decided to hire a taxi there and came over to Goa for some rest and relaxation. The move by the five-star property left him with no option but to leave the state the very next day. The decision by the starred property raises the question whether such a reaction was taken despite being told the guest had left China well before the Coronavirus made its presence known in the Chinese heartland. Was it knee jerk or was it a well thought out response?

The General Manager of Fidalgo Hotel Panjim, Md. Azharul Haque, said “We had Chinese nationals staying at our hotel as well post the outbreak made headlines in news. Such incidents are to be handled with utmost care and alertness at the frontend. The Tourist who looks healthy should not be denied accommodation”

He explained that as per specifications recently laid down by the Ministry of Health and Department of Tourism, issued to the hotels post the outbreak, such check-in details are to be communicated to the Nodal Officers appointed by the Ministry of Health.

Edgar Afonso, Managing Director of Andores Resort and Spa however felt it was important to take a balanced view. He said, “It was the decision of the hotel to decide whether to entertain or not. Please remember, if we take a guest we will be fired and face the firing squad again if we don’t entertain him or her. As a hotelier I have to decide about the wellbeing of hundreds and not just one person. The decision has to be taken irrespective of the nationality of the person. Safety is important”.

The President of the Travel and Tourism of Goa Savio Messias, felt that a more humane and nuanced approach could have been taken. He said “The fact that the Chinese national had not travelled to China in the last two months was sufficient to consider his case in a more humane manner. I will also add that it was sheer callousness on the part of the GMC team to have delayed visiting the Chinese national and ascertaining the details. They even went as far as to concede that they did not know what to do with such cases.” Someone else, in the tourism sector who spoke on the condition of staying anonymous said the entire exercise revealed how poorly the state, was prepared if such an eventuality became reality. All the talk in the media of the medical staff being ready was just mere talk.

Nikhil Desai, Managing Director Goa Tourism Development Corporation did not hesitate in stating his position on the incident. He said “This was a knee jerk response by the hotel. We in the tourism department spend money and are trying to break into new markets. China is very important and it is a market where news like this will spread very fast. How do you think they are going to react? Yes, it is important to be careful and they should have done whatever was necessary to ascertain if he had shown any symptoms. It takes 14 days for it to reveal itself. They should have conducted a check to find out when he had landed in India, i.e. Mumbai, and when did he leave China. When he says he left China two months ago and was now in the UK it is all verifiable. I will say this, from no angle there was any reason to initiate this move. This was collateral damage that was avoidable. Now if a compliant is filed we will look into it with seriousness. This move was so wrong by the hotel”

Given the poor tourism season this year and the preceding year, perhaps a more balanced approach was possible. Time will tell if this and the general poor economic scenario will come to bite Goa yet again next season.

The impact will, for sure, move from tourism to business. The E Hotelier magazine, which maps trends and does analysis of the industry in a recent article has stated “Global business travelers are holding off travel to Asia unless absolutely necessary, especially to destinations traditionally visited by the Chinese. Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur are all impacted, and we hear from hotels that bookings are being deferred or postponed for at least the next couple of weeks”

But notwithstanding this, the balance between safety and knee jerk panic, is important, so that the baby of tourism & business is not thrown out with the bathwater of the Corona Virus.