TEAM HERALD
CALANGUTE: Despite our ministers undertaking world tours to lure foreign tourists to Goa, there is hardly any increase in the business along the coastal belt of Calangute. Most of the shack owners along the coast claim that there is hardly any addition to the existing foreign tourists. However, they did get business from domestic tourists who came in groups that consisted only of friends. The family-oriented groups hardly mattered to Goa’s economy; they cooked and ate their own food and even slept in their hired buses during their visit.
Herald spoke to a few shack owners along the coastal belt to get their views on the matter.
“The shack business this year was not as good as last year. I was lucky to get some business from my old English friends/customers, but there were no Russians and others. I closed down my shack early since there was hardly anything in March and April. The Indian tourists who came in large numbers were very low-budgeted,” said Seby D’Souza from Candolim.
“The shack business this time around was not very sound, though we had our own friends and guests visiting us. The Indian tourists never bothered to patronize our shacks. The shack business suffered a lot due to the non-arrival of Russians and others, who used to make up for the loss of the English and Germans,” said Lawry from Calangute.
John Lobo from Baga said, “Business was totally down this time due to lack of Russians and other foreign nationals. We got some business from the domestic tourists who came in groups, but there were hardly any families visiting our shacks. It is high time the government concentrates on family tourism for the growth of tourism in Goa.”
