PANAJI
In a worrying turn for Goa’s tourism sector, stakeholders have been left grappling -- not due to government red tape or safety concerns, but because of an unexpected and sharp drop in tourist footfalls from mid-March onwards.
The usual Easter buzz and summer surge have been replaced by shuttered shacks, nearly empty beaches and growing anxiety among shack and hotel owners alike.
Despite a string of three long weekends within a month including the back-to-back breaks for Ambedkar Jayanti and Good Friday, the anticipated tourist influx never arrived.
Around 10 per cent beach shacks have shut shop nearly two months before the official end of the tourist season in May.
“We had a decent season till March 15 but it saw a sudden dip since thereafter. There’s a 60 per cent drop in domestic arrivals and an estimated 40 per cent drop in international arrivals. The British tourists are gone since March-end and the Russians are few in numbers,” President of the Shack Owners Welfare Society Cruz Cardozo said, speaking to The Goan.
Of those that have closed prematurely include two each in Colva and Majorda, and one each in Cavelossim, Betalbatim, Arrosim and Calangute among other places.
Cardozo stated that this time the responsibility doesn’t lie solely with the authorities. “We can’t blame the government all the time,” he said adding, “we received our shack licenses early. The reality is, tourists aren’t coming owing to certain issues plaguing Goa and those who do come for weddings or business trips don’t visit shacks. The low-end tourists don’t spend on food and drinks in shacks.”
From the hotel sector, the concerns echoed louder. President of the Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association Gaurish Dhond pointed to the unchecked behaviour of tourist taxi lobby as one of the key deterrents.
“Just recently, a group of 14 tourists were not allowed to enter a hotel in Arpora because they arrived in a mini-bus (AC bus). This monopoly is hurting us all. Fancy rates, rude behaviour and threats to competition are driving tourists away at a time when the government is working to restore Goa’s image,” he said.
Cardozo warned that Goa’s global image is suffering, stating that certain unwanted things are resurfacing. “We as stakeholders must ensure tourists arrive happy and leave happy,” he added.
While conceding footfalls have dropped, Dhond stopped short of calling it a collapse explaining the current situation to The Goan. “Occupancy is still around 75-80 per cent but it should have been 100 per cent. In the past, you couldn’t find a spot on the beach during this time. Places would be overcrowded but it isn’t now, but we can’t complain as we are still getting footfalls.”
Dhond too agreed that the much-hyped weekends in April failed to rescue the season. “There’s barely any increase. From March 20 to April 20, it’s been average,” he added.
The early closures aren’t just numbers but are also carrying emotional and financial weight. Shack owner from Colva Moses Fernandes claimed new arrivals were just five per cent.
“Our regular clients came in January and left by the end of March. New tourist arrivals after that were just five per cent of the usual count. We had no choice but to shut down on April 8. Hopefully, things will look up by next October,” he told The Goan.
Shack operators are now likely to request the government for an extension of their license period till June 10.
