Goa Fails To Attract Tourists As COVID Effect Is Visible With Majority Of Beach Shacks Closed

In normal times, this time of the year would have been peak tourist season in Goa and the beach shacks would have been teeming with both foreign and domestic tourists.

But as we are living amid a pandemic, it has affected the tourism sector in Goa, like elsewhere.

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And it is most evidently visible on the beaches where less than half of the shacks are operational.

Last month the government had started the process of demarcation of beach shacks along the North Goa coast.

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But due to the lack of foreign tourists, only 40% of the 350-odd beach shacks allotted by the tourist department have started business so far.

This is a setback for the shack owners and others in the industry hope that the footfall of domestic visitors would increase during the Diwali holidays.

¡°Less than average footfalls comprising mostly domestic tourists are not adequate to sustain all operators,¡± president of the Shack Owners¡¯ Welfare Society (SOWS) Cruz Cardozo told The Times of India.

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¡°There is no business during weekdays and though Indian tourists are seen on weekends, it is not sufficient to keep operating cost under control. Therefore, only operators having their own premises have opened so far, while those renting spaces have decided to give it a miss this season,¡± president of the all-Goa Private Hut/Shack Owners¡¯ Association Dharmesh Saglani said.

While the government is trying it best to help the shack owners, by reducing the licence fee for shacks by 50% and allowing operators an extension till December 31 for setting up shacks, many feel that it will not pick up this year.

Even Sunburn cancelled amid pandemic

Last week, Goa government had withdrawn the permission granted to the organisers of Sunburn electronic dance music (EDM) festival to hold the event in the state in December this year.

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Earlier, the government has given its nod to organise the festival amid the COVID-19 outbreak, with limited participation.

However, many had expressed concerns that the festival that was scheduled to be held from December 27 to 29 at Vagator village in North Goa would turn out to be a super-spreader event.

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On Monday, various industry bodies in Goa have written to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to defer implementation of the state tourism policy, saying it should have a balanced representation of all key stakeholders in the business.

Last month, Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said the Pramod Sawant-led cabinet has approved the Tourism Policy-2020, which will give a "proper direction to the industry".