Goa has been drenched with heavy downpour in the last couple of days. There is waterlogging everywhere, trees uprooted and traffic jams hitting normal life. There is a significant change in the monsoon pattern witnessed in the last few years. If we may recall, in three out of the previous five years, there was not much rainfall in the month of June. And, in all these years, the month of September saw excess rainfall. This year has been a clear exception, and even as this is going to print, the State is being lashed by heavy unseasonal showers. Gone are the days when June to August period was considered to be of heavy rainfall and September witnessed mild showers.
In view of the changing pattern of monsoon, Goa must revisit its calendar of events. We cannot afford to take chances with big events that are crucial to the State in terms of tourism or investment. Vibrant Goa Summit held last week was billed as one of the biggest business expo, but was affected because of rains. The visitors found it so tough to move from one hall to another at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium on the day it rained at the summit. Even internet connectivity was badly impacted.
The State Government is hosting another very important event called “ Goa International Travel Mart (GITM), which has brought tourism stakeholders from 110 countries to the State. And the rain fury continues. Scheduling key events in October is risky because of the uncertainty of weather. Two events of such a scale “ Vibrant Goa and GITM “ should have ideally happened much later. December being a festive time with events like Sunburn and other parties happening, Goa has still six months to plan with tariffs also being reasonable. It would make sense to hold GITM by the end of the season, in either March or April. If it happens by the time the season ends, it will give ample time to agents to sign contracts to bring tourists for the next season.
Besides the weather, tourism-related events should ideally not be held in October or November because it is nearly impossible to reap its benefits for the ongoing season. In fact, GITM 2014 happened in April. The point remains that a slot between January and May is ideally better for big events in Goa. Organisers must also pay thought to ensure that the events are spaced out well. There should be a gap of at least 15 days between two events. It must also be ensured that the schedule of an event in Goa does not clash with another event of similar nature elsewhere in the world. At the end of the day, events should help local people, businessmen and also the government. For that, it is necessary to pay some thought while slotting an event.
