One five star hotel near Panjim called off its Holi festivities a precaution against rising cases. At the same time the reservations teams are busy handling a surge of bookings during two successive long weekends over holi amd Easter.At rhe same time some cancellations are also being reported. So its quite a mixed bag for Goa’s tourism. Saurabh Khanna GM of The Park said they had received several cancellations but the Holi weekend was still looking good. He said “Our guests and our team’s safety is always paramount for us. That’s why we have not kept any Holi event this year like we do as we understand it’s difficult to maintain social distancing in an event like that. All protocols and guidelines of safety are being followed strictly by the hotel.” Savio Messias hotelier said the situation was not looking good with regards to bookings for the next weekend. He said they had lost a large number of bookings for the next weekend because of the fear over Covid. He said “The problem of extra care and taking precautions does not arise because the hotels will have low occupancy. Whoever comes will have to follow the precautions”. He said he hoped some bookings would come over in the next couple of days.
Ajith Nair, Head of Sales and Marketing at Zuri White Sands, Resort and Casino said the early panic had reduced and bookings were looking good from next Friday right up till the 31st of the month. He said he expected occupancy levels to be around 80-85 percent. Cancellations had happened and he was at around 65 percent for this weekend. They had decided to ensure that guests wear the facemask while on the property. He said the recent surge had made their guests realise the dangers this virus posed. He said “Their body language has changed and everyone is following the protocols and we will ensure they follow it next weekend.” It is obvious however the rise in the number of cases had affected properties differently around the state. Joseph Valadares the owner of Cozy Woods Hill Resort in North Goa said he had not witnessed any increase in the number of bookings for the long weekend. He said “The increase in the number of cases has certainly affected business. Let’s see how long this continues.”
Jacqueline the desk manager at Serene Waters Resort Goa said they had not received any bookings for the following weekend. She said this was due to the fact most of their customers usually came from Bengaluru which was affected by the virus. However Dharmendra Rajput sales manager at the Casa Britona said bookings had increased and this was keeping with the trend witnessed over the weekend in the New Year. He said “We have five properties and they are all booked out for the long weekend. Most of our guests come from cities as different as Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. There has been an increase in bookings and we expect this trend to continue in the future.” Precautions will have to be taken and enforced to ensure people have a good time and stay safe. That will ensure the tourists keep coming into the state.
