It’s a rather depressing time. The colour is certainly missing from life. No night outs at that restaurant which serves very good shark ambotik or crab Xec Xec. And yes, the band that plays over the weekend is pretty special. Now all that is but a distant memory. But things could be changing. The CM has decided to allow the hotels and resorts to open later this month. This he said would help the industry get back on track after months of zero occupancies. Now it must be noted the number of cases in Goa is now at 196 and rising every day. This rise was sparked by the central government’s decision to allow trains to pass through the state and flights to land at Dabolim airport. This decision has evoked a mixed response from the tourism industry.
Jack Sukhija Partner Welcome Heritage Panjim Inn felt it would be better to wait and watch since no one had an idea of how it would pan out in the future. He however believed that there would be an increase in the number of retired couples staying in villas for longer durations. He said “The metros are going to remain very congested and with the virus still present it would make a lot of sense for them to come to a corner of India where the situation is slightly better. You cannot freeze everything and there will be movement with people coming over. Younger people will not be able to make it to Goa because of the pressures of work, the fear of losing a job in a market that is very tight. With regards to prices, I believe there will be a correction to the tune of 15 -20 % given the state of the economy”.
However, Vincent Ramos, Area Director of Taj Goa and GM at Taj Exotica Resort & Spa was more confident when asked what he felt about this decision by the CM. he said “I strongly believe 100 % there will be a boom. This will be due to the good work we have done in the past. Goa has a good SOP in place and is in control. Compared to other states, the number of cases has been small and managed better. Goa will be the first to open”. Optimistic he may be but that optimism may not be shared by others in the industry.
Savio Messias Former President TTAG said it would all depend on the marketing strategy that would be followed by Goa. He said “It is important we convince the world we are safe. If we can do that then we could get people coming over. You have to understand everyone needs time to open and prepare for the tourists. They have to have their marketing strategies. It does not happen overnight"
In Goa he said if flight rates were high no one would come in this market. Everyone was offering innovative packages like paying for one night or part of the ticket to ensure tourists came. The talk of a huge inflow of tourists he felt was not possible overnight but would take time.
Confidence was not running high as far as Peter Silveira of Nazri Resort was concerned. He said “I have my strong doubts. We are in Calangute and there have been reports of cases here. We are placing the economy before life. I know everyone is starving but the moment we get people from high-risk areas like Mumbai, Delhi for example it is going to get worse. We have the local restaurants scheduled to start but it will have to close by 9 o clock. Who do you think is going to come and eat early in the evening? And yes, no alcohol. It does not work out. There will be no social distancing when it all starts. I am not sure about this decision”.
Nilesh Shah, President TTAG who felt it would be good for the economy because everyone was waiting for things to restart. He said around 1, 40,000 people were involved directly in the business and around 6 lakhs indirectly and this meant a large portion of the state’s population was experiencing tough times. He said he had met the tourism minister and had given the industry’s suggestions and the government was busy amending laws to make it easy to conduct business.
It is obvious that Goa will have to fight very hard to attract any tourists. As a seasoned observer of the industry said it would be a strange time for everyone and it would make sense if everyone buckled up but were also prepared to move quickly and react to market developments.