With a drastic drop in the arrival of foreign tourists and only a trickle of domestic arrivals even during the peak Christmas season, Canacona’s coastline is perhaps the worst affected in the State.
Some shack operators have complained they have been unable to get even a single customer on some days, while some outstation seasonal shack operators who had taken shacks on rent have left the business due to heavy losses.
Many tourism operators are known to have laid-off their staff, while a number of Kashmiri and other traders operating from rented premises are planning to wind-up their business in the second week of January.
“This season has been a huge disaster. Many seasonal operators who had appointed experienced staff with high salaries in anticipation of a lucrative tourism season ahead, have now been forced to lay-off the staff. The first two months of the tourism season was bad and the much anticipated Christmas season is nothing short of a disaster,” said Dharmesh Saglani, president of All Goa Private Property Shacks and Huts Owners Association and a seasonal business operator along the Agonda-Palolem beach belt.
While Patnem and Colomb in Canacona municipality are still looking for their share of foreign tourists, several beach coves in the hilly terrains of Khola and Polem-Loliem have nothing to cheer about as well.
The Galgibaga-Talpona coast, which is already affected by the National Green Tribunal’s order to dismantle shacks in close proximity to the turtle nesting site, has also been hit by empty tables and chairs.
Vishu Clement Fernandes, who runs a shack at Palolem beach, says, “One cannot imagine a beach shack deserted by 8.30 on Friday night, a day after Christmas. Such has been the low turn out of tourists on Palolem beach.”
Besides Fernandes, the other private shacks surrounding his shack have a similar tale to tell. “Who will sit in our shacks, when there is no occupancy in our rooms and huts,” asked a dejected Fernandes.
Another businessman hit hard by the absence of tourists in Canacona is Vijay Komarpant, who runs a chain of shacks/rooms in different private properties at Palolem, Agonda and Patnem beaches.
“I have barely managed some business in the beginning of the Christmas season, but many others who have invested lakhs of rupees have been affected,” said Komarpant.
“The government only speaks, but does nothing to facilitate more tourist arrivals in the State. Nearly 60 per cent of seasonal business is down and foreign tourist arrivals to Canacona beaches have dropped by nearly 70 per cent,” he added.
The situation is no different at Agonda. Estev Rodrigues, who runs the ‘Fatima Guest House’ and some restaurants near Agonda beach says, “It’s unbelievable that most of our rooms are empty. There is only 30 per cent occupation and that too, only for a period till January 3. Besides, there are hardly any customers in my restaurants.”
“Worse, two of my colleagues who run shacks/restaurants at Agonda beach told me that they did not have a single customer on Friday and Saturday. Such is the situation for shack operators at Agonda beach,” said Rodrigues.
Kashmiri traders, most of whom have taken rooms on rent at Palolem and Agonda beaches, are now planning to wind up their business by January 10.
“From where will we pay our next rent if we don’t get customers to buy our items? Forget about profits, our premises are virtually empty. If this same trend continues for another week, we have to wind up for the season by January 10,” said Junit Mohamad, a Kashmiri at Agonda.
Given the dismal 2014-15 tourist season, a non-resident private shack operator at Agonda beach reportedly fled with his staff late Friday night.
The landlord confirmed the disappearance of his tenant and the staff. “They were very disturbed, as they were getting hardly any customers for the entire month. The situation became worse even during the Christmas week,” said the landlord.
While shacks/huts operators are upset over the dismal tourism season, the mood among the taxi, rickshaw and rent-a-bike operators is also the same.
“The government keeps issuing new licenses for tourist taxis and with the low arrival of foreign tourists, our business is already unprofitable,” said Satish Gaonkar, a tourist taxi operator at Agonda.
Added Vinod, a rickshaw driver, “If not for local trips, we would have been forced to abandon our rickshaw trade.”
