VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Goa Tourism this year has been dealt a double whammy. First it was the demonetisation of high currency notes that reduced the tourist flow, and now, as the State enters the high season, it is the shifting of two mega electronic dance music (EDM) festivals – Sunburn and Supersonic – to Pune that has further brought down tourist arrivals. Hotels, resorts and guest houses have seen a dip in bookings as the usual holiday rush to Goa has diminished.
The Christmas to New Year week is when Goa records the highest number of arrivals, however, it is not happening this year. Industry stakeholders have already braced up for the poor peak season, unlike the last few years when tourist footfalls saw an impressive rise.
TTAG President Savio Messias sees a quiet Christmas and New Year ahead. “There is a significant drop in the business. Rooms are vacant, some hoteliers might reduce the room tariff to get visitors. There is no gala dinner at several high-end hotels, as paying decorators and related agencies will not be possible,” he told Herald.
Hotel bookings have seen a sharp decline with the industry equating the scenario to the recession period. “By this time of the year, we are usually fully booked and inquiries keep raining in. Today, there are many rooms still available. There are also hardly any inquiries,” Domnick Pereira, proprietor of two guest houses at Calangute and Baga told Herald.
Guest houses have felt the heat more as they catered to a large number of visitors who came for the EDMs. Pereira has been forced to reduce the tariff to Rs 2,000 per day that earlier did not drop below Rs 6000-7000 for this period. “It does not appear to be a good (tourist) season. We have reduced the rate of the rooms like never before,” he added.
Unarguably guest houses, one and two star hotels are the worst hit, but stakeholders claim luxury hotels and resorts are also affected. “The season is dull. Bookings are still available, while hotels were going full last year,” Ralph D’Souza, a resort owner along the Calangute-Candolim belt said conceding that the absence of EDMs have added to the woes. “My resort was close to the EDM venues. It is a big challenge to ensure good business between Christmas and New Year this year as there are no EDMs. This period was considered for premium revenue but now everything has changed.”
A former President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), D’Souza said that small accommodation facilities that do not offer online payment are the most affected. “Several foreigners are complaining of difficulty in getting their currency exchanged, those who can pay through credit cards cannot stay in those accommodation facilities where the system of online payment doesn’t exist. The small businessmen are facing this loss,” he stated. The only silver lining is that prior bookings where digital payments were carried out still survive.
“It is not only the hotels but cab operators and restaurants are also impacted. People do not want to swipe their bank cards every time they go out to eat, and in Goa paying cab fare online is yet to take off,” travel agent Siddu Joshi said as he too spoke of a decline in travelers.
Another former TTAG President, Francisco de Braganca, echoed similar views stating, “Of course there will be an adverse affect. Tourism and hospitality depends very much on liquidity and availability of funds in excess of your immediate needs.”
Over a month from the date of demonetisation there is an overall drop in business at all levels, be it in starred categories or at the lower end. “December is showing a decline of about 10 to 15 percent as compared to November. The festive season looks bleak unless the liquidity position improves by then,” Braganca said.
