HEADING
Ganesh Chaturthi brings
a four-day tourism bliss
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BOX
FESTIVE MOOD: A LONG WEEKEND
* Tourists in large numbers, including youngsters, flock to Goa
* Very high occupancy at hotels for the four-day weekend
* Tourists have come despite high airfare from Mumbai to Goa
* One-way airfare Mumbai to Goa is not less than Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000
* People providing cars and bikes in the State on rent are seeing a surge in demand
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QUOTE
The demand has been so high this weekend that I don’t have a single taxi or a two-wheeler left to rent out as I have given all my taxis and two-wheelers on rent already
- Sanjeev Kamat, owner of Aguada Auto Rentals
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KARAN SEHGAL
PANAJI
The auspicious festival of Ganesh Chaturthi has turned out to be a blessing for people in the tourism industry. Thanks to the festival, people in many states of India are enjoying a 4-day long weekend. A very high number of them have chosen to travel to Goa. This is a significant change wherein young tourists are deciding to travel even on the day of festival, which wasn’t happening till recently. As a result, hotels are enjoying a very high occupancy for the four day weekend, which started last Thursday, September 17.
Ralph de Sousa, seasoned hotelier and ex-president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), said, “I think this is going to a be a good weekend from tourism point of view, as more tourists are coming to Goa this year around Ganesh Chaturthi than last year. For two of our properties, Surya Sangolda and Sun Pride Village, we are seeing an occupancy rate of 90-95% for this weekend. The occupancy rate for our third property, which is Aldeia Santa Rita, is around 80-85%”.
The industry believes that this is because youngsters in high number prefer frequent short holidays. People from metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai have come to Goa this weekend despite high air-fares. A one way ticket from Bombay to Goa is not less than Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000.
People are clearly not shying away from paying a high airfare to be in Goa. Good demand notwithstanding, the tourism industry is worried about high airfares. Till recently, airlines used to say that airfares were high because of Goa’s limited connectivity to other parts of India. But, Goa’s air connectivity improved quite a bit this year. Recently, AirAsia started a daily flight from Delhi to Goa. Vistara, too, started domestic flights to Goa earlier this year.
Steep hike in airfares didn’t come in the way as far as this weekend is concerned as huge demand is having a trickle down impact. People providing cars and bikes are seeing a surge in demand. Sanjeev Kamat, owner of Aguada Auto Rentals – a major bike and car rental company in Sinquerim said, “The demand has been so high this weekend that I don’t have a single taxi or a two-wheeler left to rent out as I have given all my taxis and two-wheelers on rent already”
