SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2024
he bad news for the Goa tourism industry this season has been pouring in constantly, and it still hasn’t ended. The season begun against the backdrop of the collapse of the the travel company Thomas Cook UK that brought the most number of charters to Goa from England. It was a setback that the local tourism industry never did fully recover from, as stakeholders kept stating that the numbers of tourists this season just didn’t come close to that of the previous. Even to the casual observer it was obvious that the season just didn’t pick up and the peak week – between Christmas and New Year – saw many beaches bereft of tourists, even as the gaily decorated shacks waited for the travellers to drop in and order from the menu so as to keep their kitchens busy. It didn’t happen and now, even before the season could peter out to an end, there have come the travel restrictions and advisories released by various countries over the novel coronavirus – COVID-19 – scare that prepares to deal that most lethal of blows on the most fickle of industries.
With visas to India suspended, the number of foreign travellers landing in Goa are expected to drop considerably in the weeks ahead. They could even dry up totally. Charter flights from Europe that had been already scheduled for the coming weeks before the season ends have been withdrawn, and hotels are now getting more cancellations than bookings from the tour operators. Hoteliers who had been looking forward to full occupancy, could soon be staring at closed rooms and empty lobbies. In essence, there is going to be a drop in foreign tourists, which the State can ill afford at this juncture and during this season. Goa has till now survived the 2019-20 season solely because the domestic tourists have flocked into the State, keeping the hotel rooms booked and the restaurant tables occupied. The school summer holidays were expected to bring more of the domestic holidayers to make up for the losses of the past months, but with the government advising that non-essential travel be put on hold or postponed, there now hangs a major and very worrying possibility of the Indian travellers dropping their plans to holiday in Goa or anywhere else for that matter. Should this occur, the 2019-20 tourism season will possibly end up as one of the worst that the State has seen in recent decades.
Goa has experienced the unpredictability of the tourism industry at various points of time since it opened its doors to travellers. It is not a new phenomenon for the State, but this sudden appearance of the virus comes at an already bad time for the industry. It is not possible to quantify the loss at this juncture, but the past months have not given the industry anything much to cheer about, and it was the summer months – the long holiday season – that the stakeholders were looking at to recover from a season that has not been spectacularly good, or for that matter even partially good. That now does not appear to be entirely possible, though the situation could improve if there is a drop in the number of COVID-19 cases across the globe and the restrictions and advisories are dropped. The epicentre of the disease, Wuhan in China, has seen a significant reduction in new cases occurring, but many European countries are still reeling under the virus, including the UK that is a major market for Goa. With visas to India suspended till April 15, the situation could show any improvement only from then onwards, but that will come close to the end of the charter season.
The tourism dreams of this season, may have fallen through with little hope of revival. That, however, should serve as a lesson to the State on anticipating changes that it can have no hand in, and to appreciate how erratic the industry can be. The State’s reliance on tourism has always been a matter of concern for precisely this reason. After the collapse of the mining industry, tourism has been the mainstay of the economy, but the government has to now consider the possibiliyt of promoting other industries alongside these to keep the economy afloat. Tourism will have its high and low points. In recent time, the State has been experiencing the lows more than the highs, which makes it advisable to explore other avenues. We may argue that a virus like COVID-19 does not come everytime, but when it does, it underlines the fact that tourism cannot be relied upon always to shore up the economy. This is a wake-up call that cannot be ignored. The alarm is ringing, either Goa wakes up to it, or ignores it and goes back to slumber. The industry has taken this blow rather stoically, but how long will they be able to bear the losses?
The Goa Tourism Master Plan that is yet to be unveiled, and the Goa Tourism Policy must take into account the variables that can derail a season and provide solutions to mitigate the losses. The plan may not be able to predict what can occur to disrupt tourist movement, but it can elucidate the measures to be taken when the season goes bad. Right now the industry is keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of losses. It sees no alternative as the situation is grim and the measures advised by the government are required to stem the spread of the virus. With casinos and pubs temporarily closed, there appears to be no possibility of tourism showing a turnaround. As countries announced controls on travel, the World Health Organisation has advised against travel and trade restrictions, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation has called on governments to include tourism as a priority in recovery plans and actions. What Goa Tourism needs is an impact assessment and crisis management plan that can be implemented at times such as these. Sadly, Goa has not reached that level of governance where it plans ahead and is prepared for such a situation. While this is about tourism, the State does not have a crisis management plan in any other area. And therein lies the fault.
