02 Jul 2020  |   05:29am IST

The key is in marketing Goa as a safe destination

The key is in marketing Goa as a safe destination

Shuttered, and in some cases even boardered up since March 22, hotels in Goa have received the green signal from the government to re-open from July 2. The gloom that had descended upon the tourism industry for the past three months will surely lift with this decision, however, the return to normalcy in the sector will be gradual, as the pandemic has not yet ended, and the concerns of transmission of the novel coronavirus still run very high. For this reason, the standard operating procedure that the government has mandated has to be followed in minute detail so that transmission of the virus is avoided. The State has warned of taking strict action against hotels that do not follow the guidelines, but it is in the interest of the industry that its stakeholder adhere to the SOP. Even a single COVID-19 positive case in a hotel will not only lead to closing down the property, but could have a cascading effect on the entire industry.

As the State reels under a tremendous economic strain, brought about mainly by the pandemic and the enforced lockdowns that have kept the tourism industry on hold for over three months, re-opening the hotels turns an urgent need to bring back into employment the thousands of workers in the tourism and ancillary sectors who have been rendered idle for over three months. The longer the tourism industry remained closed, the higher would be the number of job losses in the State and various businesses going bankrupt would increase, and this has to be avoided. Though the novel coronavirus is spreading across the State and the Country with new cases and new areas arising on a daily basis, the health concerns have to be balanced with the economic fallout of being locked down, and the opening of the hotels will play a major part in easing the financial strain among stakeholders. 

Goa is not the first of States to open hotels. Since the Centre had announced that hotels could be opened in Unlock 1, there were demands from industry stakeholders to permit operations, and 250 hotels applied to the government to throw open their doors to travellers. The success of the re-opening of hotels, however, depends entirely on how Goa tourism takes this forward from now on. This is the off season for tourism in Goa, and marketing the State is what will ensure a steady flow of tourists. Given that people have been restricted to their homes for the past months, there could be an interest in travelling for a shor vacation, as long as the travellers are ensured that the destination is safe. Can Goa convince domestic travellers that they can come here, enjoy and return without the fear of contracting the virus? That is the key in making Goa a tourist hub again.

The SOP is there and it is true, when Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar says that there are people who want to holiday in Goa. This can be borne out by the many queries that have popped on social media in the past weeks from persons residing in other States seeking to know whether hotels in Goa are open for business. But will those be enough to fill up the rooms in the 250 hotels that have sought to open? It is how the tourism industry and the government ensure that the entry of tourists does not lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases that will now be of utmost importance in getting toruists to Goa. At stake will be Goa’s reputation as a tourism destination, as COVID-19 positive cases in hotels could derail the industry’s season ahead, that begins four months from now. And, that Goa cannot afford to let happen.


IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar