Goa needs to revive old markets

With its main source markets of Russia and Ukraine closed down, Goa will need to revive its traditional markets such as Germany, Poland and the UK by this October, says Nilesh Shah, President, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa.

Hazel Jain

Goa’s tourism industry is facing a difficult time. Not only the two key charter markets for Goa have come to a standstill, but the rising fuel prices are also discouraging domestic tourists to come to Goa. However, Nilesh Shah, President, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), is hopeful. He recently led his team to meet the new Tourism Minister of Goa, Rohan Khaunte, to seek his support for the tourism industry. “He (Khaunte) is a dynamic leader and has experience in the hospitality industry. He sounded very positive during our meeting and promised he will go all out to resolve our issues. We want a tourism minister to execute the vision outlined in the tourism masterplan. We hope under his leadership our industry benefits,” said Shah, adding that the new tourism minister expressed his interest in promoting hinterland and backwater tourism.

He said, “This was always on the agenda for Goa. We have a unique rural culture, which was not tapped and it had to be done in a sustained manner. Promotions were done on the local culture and the cuisine. The government had also informed the local panchayat that tours would visit the village. Several companies were providing experiences and it was important to have connections to these places.”

Shah and his team had also met Goa Chief Miniser Dr Pramod Sawant to seek more support for the sector.

Old source markets key

Shah is hopeful that Goa will see some good inbound tourists from the next season, which will start from October 2022. “We will need to revive our old source markets now such as Finland, Germany, Poland and the UK now that Russia and Ukraine are halted. This also means charters from these countries. And with the new Mopa airport opening in August 2022, we are hopeful that the frequency of the scheduled flights from airlines such as Oman Air, Emirates and Air India will also go up,” he said.

Talking about the situation in Sri Lanka, he said that the island nation’s loss could be India’s gain.

“Sri Lanka was one of our competitors, especially for charter business. Now that international travellers are changing their plans, we can hope to see some of them change to Goa,” he said.

Rising fuel costs may hurt

The rising petrol prices are also expected to hit domestic tourism in Goa. “It is expected to hit restaurants and hotels, which may increase their prices. But the one group that is expected to increase fares is the taxi drivers. All costs will increase but I hope the situation will be brought under control soon. The costs of flight tickets had increased. Tourists were already paying 20 to 30 per cent more for taxis. Taxi associations will have to think before increasing fares,” Shah opined.