the goan I network
PANAJI
Tourism stakeholders are worried that ongoing general elections and issues with aviation sector are likely to badly affect tourism in Goa in the months of April and May. This is after the State witnessed one of the lowest turnouts of tourists in season, from October to March.
Since a significant number of government employees will be occupied with election duty, first with polling and then with vote-counting, they are likely to cancel their vacation plans for this summer. And, Goa being one of the leading destinations for travel will suffer.
Shivam Verma, general manager, Royal Orchid Beach Resort & Spa, said, “The leaves of government employees are getting cancelled because they will be doing election duty. As a result, a lot of people will not travel this summer.”
The ongoing general elections are happening in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes will happen on May 23. Typically, April and May are months when a lot of students have vacations. But, they will not be able to travel, if their parents are government employees and are busy with election duty.
Savio Messias, president, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), said, “Elections will affect tourism to a certain extent due to factors like restrictions on the sale of alcohol. The general elections are likely to affect the turnout of tourists for such reasons. We hope that Panaji bypoll, which is slated for May 19, don’t affect tourism too much.”
Meanwhile, aviation sector is facing severe headwinds, as one of the leading carriers, Jet Airways, has been grounded. With its flights shutting down, travellers will have fewer options to travel to Goa than earlier. Consequently, airfares may go up. Another airline, IndiGo, has reported instances of mid-air engine failures on its flights.
Nikheel Shirodkar, general manager, ibis Styles in Calangute, said, “Jet Airways has been grounded. There have been few issues with IndiGo as well. This doesn’t bode well for tourism sector. And, airfares may go up, which will make it costlier for tourists.”
