Team Herald
CALANGUTE: While Calangute locals did not do much business during the Christmas week and New Year’s Eve, hoteliers and rent-a-bike owners were overjoyed with the results. Though there was a huge crowd of tourists for the EDM festivals, Sunburn and Supersonic, shack owners and taxi operators hardly had any patrons.
Taxi owners failed to get good business as tourists either rented cars and two-wheelers or arrived in the State with their own vehicles. Hoteliers were the biggest winners; they rented out rooms at exorbitant rates. Rent-a-bike owners also made a quick buck by renting their bikes for nothing less than thousand rupees a two wheeler.
John Lobo, a shack owner, said, “There was a lot of crowd at Baga beach due to the long Christmas weekend, but it was a very cheap crowd. They came with their own food and liquor, which in no way benefitted either the shack owners or others in the tourism business. We have been witnessing such a crowd for a long time due to cheap publicity by Goa Tourism. It’s high time that Goa Tourism does something worthwhile to win over better tourists for a change in fortune. Secondly, the government should change the dates of EDM festivals in Goa in the interest of tourism.”
“It’s sad that we don’t have sufficient guests in our shacks. During Christmas week, many shacks had 3-4 tables at the most, which does not augur well for the tourism industry in Goa,” said another shack owner.
Raj, a taxi driver, stated, “The taxi business was very poor during Christmas week and New Year’s Eve as tourists came in their own cars or rented bikes. I did not get a single call for three days during the festive week, which otherwise is a very busy week. Goa Tourism says there are more tourists in Goa, but who benefits from it?”
“I did good business with rent-a-bikes as it fetched me nothing less than a thousand rupees per day. Bikes were on demand due to traffic jams everywhere during Sunburn and Supersonic,” said a rent-a-bike owner.
Francis, a local with a small fast-food business, stated, “The tourists who came in buses and cars preferred to eat at kiosks or small fast-food shops, so I had good business. By and large, it was not a good crowd for the tourism industry as the tourists were budgeted tourists.”
A hotel owner stated, “Our hotel rooms were full, but there were hardly any guests for our restaurants. The guests preferred to go out and have cheaper stuff at small eateries.”
