Goa wil be ‘domestic’ this season

The charters will not be landing at Dabolim
airport any time soon. The aircraft that brought in dollars and pounds in very
decent numbers will not take off from their respective airports. This year
however the rupee will be the king of all it surveys. The domestic tourist is
expected to be coming in large numbers and the season is expected to be very
good for all concerned. Months of staying indoors had driven people up the gum
tree and now people are just fed up.
The average Indian tourist comes with his family
and stays in a star restaurant or the upper-middle-class stays in a luxury
hotel or a homestay. The middle class stays in the lower star hotels or even in
the large number of unrecognized lodges that are present. The members of the
tourism industry seem confident the season will be good and had definite ideas
as to who would be attracting business.
Savio Messias veteran tourism entrepreneur said
the domestic tourist would be a treasured guest because it could be safely said
the charters would not even be possible in January. He said “The domestic
tourist will come in large numbers. I strongly believe that people will stay in
homestays and apartments this season. This is as per the study which was
conducted. When groups come they prefer to stay in homestays and apartments and
when couples come they will stay in good hotels”.
Messages said “This is revenge
tourism, people have been suffering at home and in Goa they experience
freedom. They come here to enjoy the beaches, cuisine and party life. I have
been told by the people who handle bookings online that they are being swamped
with inquiries. They feel a lot of people want to come to Goa. That is
heartening”. 
There is no shortage of views in the industry.
Serafino Cotta, President Small and Medium Hotels Association felt the graded
star hotels and the homestays would do very well. He said “Many of the graded
star hotels have drastically reduced rates making them very attractive to a
larger percentage of the market. A large number of homestays are second homes
for people living in Delhi. They are being managed by Goans and are wonderful
properties. Domestic tourists will stay in these places for sure. A large
number of hotels below three stars will stay closed because many just don’t
have the money to restart or they will be unable to compete with higher star
properties that have reduced tariffs.       
Victor Soares another hotelier felt the branded
hotels would do very well because they followed all the norms that were
necessary and importantly the rates had been reduced drastically which would
make them an attractive proposition. He also felt the middle-class tourist
would stay in lower-ranked hotels which would help spread business all around.
  
Gaurav Apte the GM in a multinational hotel felt
the branded hotels would benefit from the luxury or premium doing very well.
They would be offering the same quality at lower price points which was a plus.
These hotels also followed all the protocols which meant a lot of people had
trust in these hotels.  The lower star hotels would be attractive to those
who did not want to stay in the room and wanted to get out. He, however, felt
home stays would take some time and he expected business to improve only after
February. That would be dependent if they followed the stringent guidelines as
followed by branded hotels.
What is clear from these conversations is that
the line between branded hotels and smaller homestays is shrinking. Safety and
cleanliness are the wow factors
With regards to the riotous nightlife in Goa, he
felt it was important for customers and staff to wear masks as was the practice
in restaurants in branded hotels. He said “If people fall sick they will lose
confidence in these shacks and standalone restaurants. People think Goa is free
after all the problems in Mumbai and Delhi and it would be better if caution
was exhibited.”
Guitry Velho who runs a well known resort in
South Goa said in the initial days when the industry opened after the lockdown,
branded hotels did very well but now as the industry was consolidating the 3
stars, the homestays and the budget hotels would do well. However, he
maintained luxury homestays and luxury villas who had their specific clientele
would continue to do very well.  Speaking about the nightlife, he felt it
was a tiny percentage of the pie that came to the party and the rest came to
relax, eat food and chill out.
One can only hope at the end of the season,
everyone is happy, safe and sound and importantly alive.