Almost two months ago, the tourism season in the State started, but insufficient numbers of foreign tourists have hit shack owners, hotel and other stakeholders in the tourism industry along the coastal areas of Mormugao taluka. With the shutting down of mining in the State, the next biggest sector, tourism, faces various problems as thousands associated with it have had to face the brunt, especially the shack owners and hotels in the coastal belts.
The main reason for the drop in the tourism business is low turnout of Russian tourists in the State; Shacks and hotels have been relying largely on the Russians, they were considered ‘big spenders’, as compared to the other visitors.
According to All Goa Shack Owners Association President Cruz Cardoso the business has been totally down as compared to the previous season. A shack owner from Utorda said it was hard to run his business at the moment, as he found it difficult to pay wages to workers and recover the cost of setting up the shack. A taxi driver said that the taxi business has also suffered a blow, as there are fewer tourists as compared to last year.
Tourist Taxi Union Association (Vasco) President Sanjay Naik said, “We are not severely affected by the poor influx of foreign tourists. Foreign tourists used to travel by coaches of resorts and travel agencies, while domestic tourists mainly avail of our taxi services. However, the fall in foreign tourists has affected the shacks and hotel industry along with the travel agencies.”
The main reason for the fall in the tourism business is low turnout of Russian tourists in the State. Shacks and hotels have been relying largely on the Russians, as compared to the other tourists they are considered ‘big spenders’. A drop in the arrival of Russian chartered flights in the State has been linked to the currency depreciation of the Rouble, which has fallen to a record low as against the US Dollar, making it difficult for the Russian tourists to travel to Goa.
Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said, “We are not getting the required support from the local media to showcase Goa in a better manner. The media should also focus on the positives in the tourism industry of Goa. In addition, there is a considerable drop in tourists from Russia and Ukraine, as the Ruble value has dropped sharply. This has led to a decline in the arrival of Russian tourists in the State.”
Parulekar added, “We already started developing and maintaining tourist destinations by providing maximum infrastructure to the beaches. These include changing rooms, toilets and freshwater showers at the beaches, besides other initiatives like multilevel parking, Tourism Bhavan, etc. The newly launched ‘Visa on Arrival’ scheme will attract more tourists in the State. This service is presently provided to tourists from 43 countries, including Brazil, Japan, Australia and Germany.”
