Goa is considered to be an expensive place compared to the other states due to its high capita income and availability of manpower. The manpower is the major hurdle many businesses face in Goa and tourism sector does not remain unaffected with that. Normally the assessment of the business activity takes place when there is a major dip in the business and something similar seems to have happened in the case of Goa.
Goa tourism industry has reached the point wherein they have decided to take stock of the situation to find out why there was a dip into the number of tourists in the state this year. According to the reports published by NDTV Hit by a decline in the number of tourists, the Goa tourism ministry is considering regulating food prices in restaurant and beach shacks and also keeping the check on online booking sites that artificially escalate hotel and lodging room rates.
“We will be cracking down on those who escalate food prices during the season. If people have to eat expensive food, why they should travel here? The prices of dishes cannot go above Rs. 500. There has to be a limit. We will fine them if it goes above limits,” Goa tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said on Thursday.
Goa government spends millions of rupees to promote the tourism in the state but it seems the money is not spent in the proper direction and due to this there is a massive dip in the tourism business in the state, the tourism minister is now blaming the online portals for inflating the room tariff due to which the fall in tourist flow happened.
The tourism minister also said that he is going to call the representatives of online room booking services and talk to them about the same. “We are going to call them (representatives of online room booking services). We do not want them here if they do this,” Mr. Ajgaonkar said.
He further stated that he had a meeting with tourism ministry officials about the artificial rate hikes of the rooms in the state by online portals which caused the fall in tourists flows to the state this season. “It was discussed yesterday. They show only two rooms (on online portals) and they escalate the prices. They do not show other rooms. Customers also do not have access to the hotel numbers. So they cannot cross-check,” Ajgaonkar said.
Meanwhile, The travel and tourism industry stakeholders have claimed that tourist numbers to Goa, which had attracted more than seven million tourists last season, had dropped considerably this season.
There is a need of a visionary who can take the complete responsibility of reinstating the tourism sector of Goa back to the normal and until that happens the tourists are meant to leave Goa for the other available options.
While the Tourism Ministry has claimed that it has not tabulated the tourist arrival figures for the year 2018 yet, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa Savio Messias has said that the dip was as much as 30 percent, adding that most hotels in the state were under-booked during the festive season, when bookings peak.
Recently the Calangute MLA Mr. Michael Lobo had also brought the issue of a dip in the tourists to flow to the state and blamed the tourism department for the same. This shows that there is a serious need of contemplation on this issue as presently the only source of income that Goa has is tourism and dip into the sales will only lead to the serious consequences in the future.
There is a need of a visionary who can take the complete responsibility of reinstating the tourism sector of Goa back to the normal and until that happens the tourists are meant to leave Goa for the other available options.
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17 thoughts on “Massive Dip in Tourists this season due to inflated food and stay costs makes the stakeholders of Goa Tourism industry check on their booking and food prices”
Prices of the hotel can’t be a reson because till 30th December prices were just 2 to 3 k for 4 guests. When we go outside Goa we pay 3k to 4k for four guests that in off season.
Indian VISA is also a “strange” ting, for the (long stay) tourist.
I have a very expensive Visa for…5…(FIVE)…YEARS….!!!
But still I have to LEAVE the country (India) after 90. (89) days
and come back again the day after and stay for 90. days more.
First time I came to India was in 1969.
In 1995 I started to TRAVEL AROUND in whole India.
Every winter in the last 16 years I use to stay in Goa for 5-6 months
without problems.
But last year I had to…LEAVE THE CONTRY…!!
I wend to Sri Lanka for one day and came back again the next day.
This year I stayed in Goa for 89-90 days and wend all the way
back again to Holland for 5. days and return to Mumbai-GOA yesterday.
It cost a lot of money and energy.
I am 78-79.years old.
We are (WAS ) many, many older people there use to stay in Goa
in the 5-6 winter month before,
but now we are just very, very few “Long-Stayers” because of a …”difficult”…VISA/rules.
I am going to leave India again after 89-90. days, for the LAST TIME…!
Thank you, India, and…GOOD BYE…!
With love and regards from ALL (old) LONG-STAYERS.
My one year visa allows me to stay for 6 months. Maybe you should check this out as I know rules have changed. I know if I had applied for a 5 year visa that also allowed me to stay 6 months at a time. The only reason I didn’t get 5 years was because I didn’t have 5 years left on my passport.
This good news !! Also Goa must take in hand Indian tourists leaving rubbish on beaches ie beer -bottles as they throw the in sea & on sand against another bottles & smash! Leaving sharp fragments on beach & sea !! I have picked lots off fragments off the sand & out of sea !! And all the plastic bags !! They never clearup .
The charge for visa’s is to high and the cleanliness of the tourist traps need to be addressed. As for the culture that needs to stay, we love the beech shacks, the cows, tuk tuks and some of the dogs. Don’t change them.
You can fix this……
Make visa application process simple.
Spend some money cleaning up beaches and streets.
Fine domestic tourists treating beaches and sea like a rubbish dump.
Stop locals burning rubbish, it stinks
Hose cow shit off pavements, you don’t want to slide on that stuff.
Regulate taxis. Why are they so much more than Mumbai?
More beggars seem to be coming to Goa and hassling you every year.
Accommodation prices seem to be spiralling upwards.
Prices are rising faster than inflation so every year gets more expensive.
There are still more positives than negatives but if the above are addressed then the tourist numbers will increase and that has to be good for Goa.
The beaches are unsafe after sunset for many.
Too much eve teasing and rapes going on and the Police refusing to lodge a FIR.
Stop the corruption, the drinks on the beaches and set up a designated Tourist Police cell for a start.
I’ve been coming to Goa for 29 years but it’s dramatically gone downhill.
I love india,my heart is very sad to see:Raping and killing daily women ,shopkeepers harrassing tourist trying to drag them in shops,constant offering of taxirides while strolling,24/7burning of garbage not only but open fires making hot water and burning fallen leaves,completly smoky hazy air,expensive accomodationwithout good or clean standard,garbage strewn everywhere,crows crowing ,crows all over shitting from above,dogs haoling in large packs at nights, noisy motorboats,arrogant goan property owners,drugs,spiked drinks,fake massage,fake products,uneducated untrained workers everywhere makes things time consuming and one wonders if they are mentally handicapped,cheap same same handicraft that is not handicraft,dirty dangerously polluted freshwater,toxic seawater,motorsports in the sea disturbing dolphins,bad wages bring non quality staff,heavy shop rents on poor traders…….
Missing:art,long easy tourist visas,education at infant stage,roads,air pollution measures,facilities,training of auto drivers n taxi n hotel workers.clean trains n busses,no spitting,no burping,no scratching of male genitals in public,pollution free sanctuaries,if this gives you a hint on what went down its a constructive critizism not wanting to hurt sentiments.its what people say not me.its a small interview with 400 people.good luck fixing it.it ll take loads of money and time.see you again once its fixed.
The bad drivers dont help. Out of state Indians hiring vehicles without license. Anybody stopped without a license should be fined and trace back to hirer, who should not be hiring vehicles without appropriate license.
Lots of people from the U.K. would visit. But many families I know can’t come due to the high cost of visas. A family of 4 now have to pay nearly £400 for visas on top of the holiday costs. How can it be justified to pay nearly £100 each for a visa even the babies and toddlers need a visa. Getting A visa is also a mammoth task the internet site is so confusing. Lots of countries charge a much smaller amount on arrival. Maybe this should be considered. I have been visiting Goa for 15 years and the increased visa price is astounding. Sort this out and maybe you will get more family tourists.
You need Portuguese rule back in goa for complete transformation which should not be undermined.
Dont expect indian goverment to support you in this.Other states are well fed and developed exponentially since 1947 but goa is still the same since 1961.sorry to hear this news though.
The cost of the visa is too high, you don’t need a visa to visit Thailand! The accommodation in Thailand is about the same but it’s of a higher standard and much cleaner.
Online booking is the main reason that prices have risen. Before you negotiated directly with the landlord when you arrived.
Also, Indians have a strange understanding of economics! If the season is slow they will raise prices, not lower them, preferring to leave huts empty rather than let them more cheaply!
I reiterate the sentiments on rubbish on the beaches and pathways, mainly created by th domesticate groups of young men. Get the police to remove the beggars on the beach instead of stopping tourists on bikes to line their own pockets. Personally I believe the food prices to be ok with such a fantastic choice of reataurants.
In addition to everything everybody else has said I think you also need to understand you can’t be all things to all people. You have to choose your target audience and then cater and market towards it. It’s not compatible to have families of whatever nationality trying to enjoy relaxing holidays alongside people who come for the weekend to party, get drunk, take drugs and indulge in prostitution. You either want to appeal to one set of visitors or the other, you can’t please both. Lots of domestic tourists want the same things as the foreign visitors..to enjoy the relaxed ambience of Goa, eat nice meals, relax at the beach. It’s not as simple as all domestic tourists bad, all foreigners good. Even better quality domestic tourists and locals are fed up of the noise and rubbish and traffic congestion caused by the cheap thrill seeking stag parties who have ruined Goa. Pick your target audience. Cater to them. It’s not rocket science.
I’ve been going Goa for 21 years every year same complaints Taxi should be metered Rubbish sorted Visas cheaper Outside of state Indians under control Women don’t fill safe Bikes being stopped by police Party’s unbelievable entry fees Please I love goa my second home please do something has I believe in 5 years your Goa will have no tourists thank you
It really is time that the police and Goan government took action against the cheating money exchangers who have been robbing the tourists blind. Year after year the same people have been operating in the same places and no action has been taken against them. The police certainly know who they are. I’m sure if this was dealt with the tourists would be more willing to return.
For what its worth here is my take on the problems i see.
I first went to Goa 13 years ago and after 5 days i actualy thought what a shithole. By the end of our 14 nights we had fallen in love with Goa, it does have something magical about it. The people, friendliness, colours, smells, beaches, food.
Fast forward 13 years and yes we still love it and look forward to going back everyear. Things that have changed and need addressing in no paticular order.
1/ cost and ease of getting a visa, if your able to work it out yourself on line through the correct website it approx £82 (far to expensive)
2/ The rubbish on streets and beaches is disgraceful and could easily be sorted within 12 months by employing people without jobs*Clean Goa up make it more attractive*
3/ Indian tourists should be scared to drink on the beaches,leaving litter and glass everywhere. This should be mandatory and policed until its set in stone* without safe beaches you have no tourists*
4/ Taxi drivers have become greedy, which means less tourists use them, which means they just keep putting prices up( More expensive than uk)
5/ Flight prices are hit and miss and can be a massive expense.
To be honest they are my own main gripes, prices in shacks etc are still reasonable, beach sellers, shops etc, barter or dont buy, they always start high.
I must say we are probably lucky that we found and fell in love with the holiday inn on mobor beach in Cavellosim South Goa, great beaches and a relatively clean area. I have experienced and seen a massive difference than North Goa.
Well lets hope all these posts dont fall on deaf ears and the powers of be in Goa, see the light before its to late.