JULIO D’SILVA
There appears to be no cheer for those involved in the tourism sector, this Christmas in Salcete as the arrival of tourists has dropped along with the number of bookings for the Christmas week, which is generally the most crowded week in Goa.
Shack Owners Association President Cruz Cardoso admitted that the season is very dull and that turnout of foreign tourists in South Goa so far has been on the lower side.
While disclosing that the hotel occupancy in general is around 25 per cent and restaurants including shacks are getting only about 10 per cent of the regular business they used to get during the season, he hoped the situation changed during the Christmas week so that shack owners can at least recover the money they have invested.
“The star hotels have turned into wedding destinations and they too are no longer luring tourists,” added another tourism stakeholder.
Another hotelier lamented that only 10 per cent of his rooms are occupied and that there has been a significant drop in the bookings for the Christmas week.
Hotel owner Snowkon Gonsalves said the tourist arrival is totally in the dumps.
“We have been badly hit by the closure of Thomas Cook UK along with which another Scandinavian charter that has folded operations,” he said while insisting that the situation this year is worse than the bad season they had last year.
“My only hope is to do some business after the Christmas week when some foreign tourists visit Goa,” he said admitting that the high prices including the astronomical flight prices during what is considered to be the peak season has affected Goa’s tourism.
