the tourism industry is hopeful that the next season would register a rise of 20 per cent. VIKANT SAHAY spoke to Ernest Dias, chief operating officer, SITA Group to understand the reason for the optimism
HERALD: What measures has Goa Tourism taken to ensure that the inflow of foreign tourists is not hampered?
ERNEST DIAS: I must admit that the Government of Goa despite the criticism has been participating in the key TravelMarts be it Germany, WTM in London or the ones in Russia. The presence has to be there as people today would believe that Goa is still interested in foreign tourists. States like Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka are now promoting their States. We really need to at least maintain their level.
HERALD: How much has this helped Goa and what is the result?
ED: By participating in these TravelMarts, the operators, which are tour and hotel operators from Goa, have benefitted because they need the inflow of tourists. My experience is that we have managed to do business in these TravelMarts and have promoted Goa in different markets. It has made a lot of difference.
HERALD: Last season the inflow of foreign tourist in Goa has not been very encouraging. In fact the graph is pointing downwards. What could be the reason for this?
ED: We have to admit that 5-6 years back the English charter arrivals were the highest. Then these dropped and the Russians grew to such an extent that all stake holders benefitted. Russians also stay in Goa for a longer period (October to May).
Now however, after the recession in Russia and rouble-dollar equation went for a toss, the situation has changed. The salaries in Russia remained the same during this period and even if we contract a package for Russians in Goa at the same level as previous year, the Russians eventually have to pay more then what they were normally used to. This is surely holding them back.
Secondly, our tax structure is the main problem. It has gone up drastically and we lose out against our competitors like Thailand, Vietnam, Combodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka etc.
HERALD: Then how do you expect that this coming season, the inflow of Russians and foreign tourists will grow?
ED: The Russians did travel in big numbers to countries like Egypt, Jordan, Syria etc but now those areas have a restriction of travel due to security concerns. So, they have limited options and Goa still for many Russians is quite a cheap long holiday destination. Also, it is a tried and tested destination for them. We are hoping to see an increase in the month of March, April and May this year as compared to last year.
HERALD: How many charter bookings are you expecting for the coming season? What’s the trend?
ED: See, for the English booking, we are expecting more flights this coming season. The bookings from UK have already started but as far as Russians are concerned, we are still working out the rates and it should start from mid-July. In the year 2012-13 there were 81,878 foreign tourists. The following year 2013-14 the figure went up to 94,758. However, in 2014-15 it drastically came down to 45,267 and in 2015-16 it only registered 33,705 foreign tourists for Goa. This is sizeable. Around 60 per cent drop and the primary reason was the Ukraine crisis. Other tour operators may have seen the same trend.
However, countries like Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary etc are also interested in coming to Goa but they prefer a short stay and that too in peak season which is end December to early January. The hoteliers are not interested in such short stays as the rooms are blocked during the peak period. I shall be very happy if we can register a business growth of 15-20 per cent.
