The beaches were crowded and so were the restaurants and the pools. It was a sight that
was not seen in the state for two years. The virus ensured that. Now boosted by
the availability of a vaccine, an increase in vaccination amongst the general
public and the public weariness with staying at home resulted in crowds
descending in large numbers on holiday spots around the country. Goa was one
such spot. For the members of the tourism industry it was great to experience
such times yet again. There were also possible indicators that perhaps domestic
could be the way forward.
Anand Chatterjee, GM, Planet Hollywood ,
said business had been very good over the Diwali weekend. He said his clientele
was largely domestic as well as international guests who lived in India. He
said “They are usually members of the diplomatic corps who are based in Delhi.
They stay for around ten days to avoid the excessive smog that is a feature of
that city around this time of the year. Generally it was the domestic guests
who were present in very large numbers. They spent a lot of money during their
stay. It was usually for three to five days.” The hotel he said was full and it
was still full as of yesterday.
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Savio Messias who has a hotel in Canacona
said the Diwali weekend was great for business. He said “It was very good,
largely domestic with all his rooms booked. All of them spend money generously.
What has emerged as a trend is that tourists now spend a couple of days in the
north and then move to the south. People he said liked the north because there
were so many avenues to party whereas the south was all about relaxing. He
admitted the south was much more expensive because there were not many hotels
as compared to the north and there were more five star properties in the south.
These properties he said were packed during the Diwali weekend. People he said
were undoubtedly spending more money.
Serafin Cotta a hotelier and heading the association for medium
and small hotels in the state said all the five star properties in the south
were full due to the domestic crowd who came in for Diwali. He however said the
small hotels were empty because the crowds that frequented these hotels did not
turn up. He said “I know the hotels in the north did very well with hotels
across all stars doing very well. The south is not about noise, the Europeans
like it because of the peace they can enjoy here”. Hotels he said were charging
rates and getting it. Serafin said “Five star properties were getting good
rates like Rs 12, 13000 per room. In the upper medium category of hotels rates
were between Rs 4-8000. However those in the under Rs 1000 got hit. No one
wanted to stay in them because the facilities were not up to the mark. For
them, Diwali was poor.”
Nilesh Shah, President TTAG said the season was looking good
with a large number of domestic tourists already having made their way to the
state. From November 19 till Jan 10 the hotels would be very busy with weddings
and that would bring in a lot of revenue. Then, he said the charters would
commence in December which would be very good for everyone. The Diwali weekend
was good for hotels with 85-90 percent of the rooms being occupied. People he
said were spending money and he hoped this continued.
A senior executive of a five star property who did not want to
come on record said it had now become obvious to people in the industry that
the domestic tourist would have to be the focus of attention henceforth. The
international tourists he said were nice but they did not spend as much as the
domestic tourist at one sitting in a restaurant. He also pointed out that Covid
regulations had to be in place and if the situation in England did not improve
then perhaps it would be prudent to not let them come in this year. And then there
was the matter of the charter operators who negotiated very hard, reducing
their profits dramatically. One will have to wait and watch if his predictions
come true.
So
for once there is some positive news coming out of the tourism industry and one
can only hope this is the start of good times.
