PANAJI
The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi on August 25 has turned out to be a win-win situation for both the tourists from neighbouring states and also hotels in Goa. Several hoteliers confirmed that tourists predominantly from Maharashtra are going to arrive from August 25 (which is a Friday) to enjoy a long weekend in Goa.
This is to such an extent that a number of hotels in Baga-Calangute belt and also in Cavelossim -Utorda are already sold out for the long weekend between August 25 and 27.
Anand Chatterjee, General Manager, Planet Hollywood in Uttorda, said, "For the coming weekend from August 25 to 27, we are already around 80% occupied, which means we are almost full. Many tourists are coming to our property from Mumbai and Gujarat. Due to Ganesh Chaturthi this Friday, they can enjoy a three-day weekend."
Earlier, on religious festivals, people used to stay at home and avoid travelling. However, in the last few years, a lot of youngsters are showing inclination to travel on religious holidays. This is how Goa ends up receiving a significant number of tourists during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi.
Bhushan Bordekar, General Manager, Windsor Bay in Calangute, said, "Most hotels in Calangute are already sold out for this weekend as a lot of tourists will visit Goa from August 25 to 27."
Bordekar also said that hotels are playing with tariff to attract travellers. He continued, "Often, hotels give aggressive discounts on 50% of their room inventory to get high occupancy on weekends like this. The rest of the 50% rooms are sold at regular tariff."
Prashanta Nandi, Revenue Manager, Caravela Beach Resort in Varca, said, "We have a lot of rooms already sold out this weekend on account of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events. As we move closer to Ganesh Chaturthi, we expect more queries from free-individual-travellers (FITs) as well, who would like to visit the state during the long weekend."
The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi on August 25 has turned out to be a win-win situation for both the tourists from neighbouring states and also hotels in Goa. Several hoteliers confirmed that tourists predominantly from Maharashtra are going to arrive from August 25 (which is a Friday) to enjoy a long weekend in Goa.
This is to such an extent that a number of hotels in Baga-Calangute belt and also in Cavelossim -Utorda are already sold out for the long weekend between August 25 and 27.
Anand Chatterjee, General Manager, Planet Hollywood in Uttorda, said, "For the coming weekend from August 25 to 27, we are already around 80% occupied, which means we are almost full. Many tourists are coming to our property from Mumbai and Gujarat. Due to Ganesh Chaturthi this Friday, they can enjoy a three-day weekend."
Earlier, on religious festivals, people used to stay at home and avoid travelling. However, in the last few years, a lot of youngsters are showing inclination to travel on religious holidays. This is how Goa ends up receiving a significant number of tourists during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi.
Bhushan Bordekar, General Manager, Windsor Bay in Calangute, said, "Most hotels in Calangute are already sold out for this weekend as a lot of tourists will visit Goa from August 25 to 27."
Bordekar also said that hotels are playing with tariff to attract travellers. He continued, "Often, hotels give aggressive discounts on 50% of their room inventory to get high occupancy on weekends like this. The rest of the 50% rooms are sold at regular tariff."
Prashanta Nandi, Revenue Manager, Caravela Beach Resort in Varca, said, "We have a lot of rooms already sold out this weekend on account of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events. As we move closer to Ganesh Chaturthi, we expect more queries from free-individual-travellers (FITs) as well, who would like to visit the state during the long weekend."
