5-STAR HOTELS STILL
CHARGING SKY-HIGH
TARIFFS FOR NEW YEAR
>> See pg 5
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INDIGO FLIGHT
A seat for December 31 from
Mumbai available @Rs 2,755
GOAIR FLIGHT
Get a seat @Rs 5,000 for
Dec 31 from Bangalore
AVERAGE 3-STAR TARIFFS
This season: Rs 11,000-12,000 per night
Previous year: Rs 17000-18000 per night
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PANAJI: Lesser tourist foot-fall and more people from Mumbai and Bangalore preferring to come to Goa by their own cars have sent airfares crashing down this year-end season, and December 31 fiesta is just a day away. This sounds unbelievable given the fact that a number of tourists had to cancel their Goa plans as compared to the same period in the previous season as a result of high airfares.
Sample this: A seat on an Indigo flight, which departs Mumbai at 1520 hours on December 31 and reaches Goa at 1630 hours, is available at a throw-away fare of Rs 2,755. Similarly, a seat on a GoAir flight, which departs Bangalore at 1700 hours on December 31 and reaches Goa at 1810 hours is available for under Rs 5,000.
Nilesh Shah, founder, Purshottam Bhagwan & Associates, said, “Lot of people from Maharashtra and Karnataka prefer to come to Goa by road these days. This is also because taxi operators charge very high fares during those days. Besides, with their own cars, tourists have a lot of flexibility.”
But, taxi operators aren’t the only ones to blame as demand has been really low in general this season and in last week of December in particular. Atish Fernandes, director, business development, First Class Holidays, says, “There isn’t much load of tourists in Goa right now. Rooms in 3-star and 4-star hotels are relatively easy to find compared to last year. For December 30 and 31, average 3-star tariffs are around Rs 11,000-12,000 per night compared to Rs 17000-18000 last year.”
Vinayak Nanoskar, general secretary, North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association, agreed that taxi operators are having a tough time because people are coming to Goa in large numbers on their own cars. But, he disagreed that it has anything to do with taxi operators charging high fares, “this is more because companies like Myles and Zoomcar are giving out cars on rent to travellers from other parts of India.”
