Bottle Bay, a resto-lounge in Baga threw
its doors open for the season on November 22 this year. Proprietor, Ninil
D’Souza is disappointed with the way things are going as far as the tourist
season is concerned. Ninil says, “Take a walk on the beach and you will see
that it is empty. I feel that the season is going to be slow till December 27.
We will experience a respite from December 27 to 31, where we can expect a fair
level of domestic crowd but after that it is likely to slow down again. There
has been a decline in the number of German, English and Russian tourists. One
of the reasons for this could be the ongoing turmoil in Russia which has
affected Russian charters.” As a solution to this situation, Ninil has been
focusing on maintaining friendly relations with his clientele in a bid to keep
them coming in. He adds, “We enjoy a healthy clientele, which also includes
locals that frequent us. Furthermore, to make Bottle Bay local-friendly, we do
not charge couples to enter our premises on the night of December 31.”
Menino Braganza owns 12 beach huts under
the name of, ‘Jesus Smiles’ in Palolem. According to Menino, most of his huts
are usually booked online in November for the months of December and January.
But things are not the same anymore. Menino says, “This is probably the first
time that we have been hit so badly. It is the third week of December and four
of my huts are still unoccupied. We knew by the month of September that the
season was going to be bad this year, but we had no clue that it would be this
bad.”
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Having said that, the existence of optimism
in some of the stakeholders is keeping hopes of a good season alive. Sinead
McManus, a public relations professional, whose clientele includes the likes of
Marbela Beach Resort in Morjim and La Brize by Novotel in Candolim, feels that
so far, things have not taken off, but they eventually will. Sinead says,
“Owners of restaurants, clubs and hotels are just getting a feel of the season.
But things will look up very soon and hopefully carry on in this fashion up
until April. Many new places have opened and will provide a varying scene to
visitors and locals alike. Perhaps the visa on arrival facility will also bring
in more international tourists. I feel it’s like this every year. There is a
slow start. But I’m aware the Russian
market is also down. Goa sometimes creates negative press that spreads quickly
to news rooms which could also be a deciding factor. Then there is also the
fact that Goa is no longer a cheap destination to the international market.”
