Govt steps in as industry fears a bleak tourist season ahead

The first charter flight of the tourism season is scheduled to land on October 1 opening the new season on a positive note. This is also a season when the beach shacks are already being set up, another positive as these were otherwise often delayed, and in some years dotting the beaches only a month or so later. 

For the industry the best news on World Tourism Day was that the government had already begun the process of issuing provisional licences to shack owners. With the first charter flight from Russia scheduled to land on October 1, the date of the traditional opening of the tourism season in Goa, it is fitting that the shacks could also be up at the same time to welcome the first batch of foreign charter tourists. 

Yet, while these two positives – the charter landing and shacks opening on day one of the season – at first glance appear to be a rather good beginning to the season, tourism stakeholders are not showing any signs of enthusiasm and would rather watch warily at how the season unfolds before clapping their hands in glee.

The industry, even though there is still a day before the curtain unfolds on the season, is not expecting it to be one of the best they have had. The not so good news also came around the time of World Tourism Day and the big fear at the current moment is the restrictions in landing timings at Dabolim airport which could lead to a drop in charter flights. They point out that if there is one Russian charter flight that has got a landing slot on October 1, the first day of the season, another charter from the United Kingdom that had sought to land on the same day has not yet been lucky enough to get permission to land on the same day.

The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, is quite candid about the fact that they are not happy with the landing restrictions at the airport that gives night slots to international flights. They have gone on to state that a lot of charter tourists are planning to change their travel plans and opt for a place other than Goa for their holidays. The fear is real, and if this does happen, it could lead to charter operators cancelling flights to Goa, which could badly hit the industry in the State.

Last season, Goa received about 1,000 charter flights and had been hoping to improve upon this figure in the coming months. That optimism has been dampened quite a bit as the outlook right now appears of a struggle this season. But the government has been quick to reassure the stakeholders, and Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar has met with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, to address the issue of landing slots at the airport. 

The start to this tourism season will perhaps be one of the best, as a number of domestic tourists are already in the State soaking up the sun and sauntering in the sand, this long weekend. Whether this scene, of beaches chock-a-block with tourists, will play out throughout the season is a question that cannot be answered right now, though the industry hopes and the government assures that it will be so.

But it is not just on hopes and assurances that the industry should ride. Last minute changes in the host state affecting the holiday plans of thousands of people in other countries sends out a wrong signal, and Goa cannot allow this to happen. People plan their holidays abroad in advance, and Goa can ill afford to be caught napping, when other competitors are waiting to welcome the tourists who drop the State from their plans.