PANAJI
Goa is drawing its Independence Day weekend crowd even without the long weekend that usually sends holiday demand sharply higher.
Airfares, too, are rising, though without the steep spikes typically seen during extended holidays.
With August 15 falling on a Saturday this year, the holiday offers little scope for the extended break that fuelled travel last year. Yet hotels and other accommodation facilities along the coastal belt are reporting healthy bookings.
“Even though this is not a long weekend, the tourist influx is good. Goa had benefited from a sustained flow of domestic tourists, particularly as international travel became more expensive because of the war and currency movements,” President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Jack Sukhija said, speaking to The Goan. He said travellers continue to see Goa as value for money, even if occupancy is not exceptionally high. “Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana are major sources of drive-in visitors, while travellers from several other states continue to arrive by air. Delhi is among the important markets,” he added.
For those flying in, the weekend comes with a price premium, although it is less dramatic than the spikes usually seen during a full holiday stretch.
As of Thursday afternoon, a Delhi-Goa flight for August 14 was priced at around Rs 7,639, compared with Rs 7,082 for August 15. Return fares ranged from Rs 6,424 on August 15 to Rs 9,368 on August 16. Some six- to eight-hour itineraries were priced nearly as high as, or even above, regular flights of around two hours and 45 minutes, which were costing upwards of Rs 10,000.
The difference was less pronounced on the Mumbai-Goa route, where many travellers continue to prefer driving. Airfares stood at around Rs 6,900-Rs 7,100 for August 14, dropping to Rs 4,669 on August 15. Return fares rose from Rs 4,857 on August 15 to Rs 6,717 on August 16.
Bengaluru fares showed a similar swing -- from Rs 7,154-Rs 8,000-plus on August 14 to around Rs 5,207 the following day, before return fares climbed to Rs 10,276 on August 16. Travel agents and hotel operators said the fare movement was unusually fluid, with prices rising by roughly Rs 500 within three to four hours depending on demand. The cost of staying in Goa is following the same pattern. A one-night stay at four- and five-star properties along the coastal belt is starting at about Rs 9,000 and can go up to Rs 40,000 for the weekend. Hotel and restaurant industry president Gaurish Dhond estimated occupancy across hotels at around 80 percent, but said the weekend surge was no longer confined to traditional peak-season dates. “Every weekend, hotels have events that keep the rush going in Goa,” Dhond told The Goan, adding, “Prices will rise, but that is now happening throughout the year rather than only during the peak season.” The broader travel market, meanwhile, has been showing a similar preference for proximity. Travellers in Gujarat and several other states are choosing destinations closer to home, while some are also opting for places such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttarakhand.
There is also growing interest in destinations such as Bhutan and Japan among travellers willing to take a few extra days off for an international break. “We are getting more bookings for these destinations than Vietnam and Thailand, which have now become quite common,” a tour operator said.
