Post-commissioning of Mopa airport, stakeholders keep fingers crossed, bank on chartered tourists
MARGAO
Successive governments unveiling ambitious plans on medical tourism, hinterland tourism, heritage tourism, eco-tourism et al to further boost tourism by showcasing Goa’s rich cultural heritage, bio-diversity besides sea, sun and sea is not something new for the tourism stakeholders as well as the local populace.
Sense of fear & anxiety
Welcome to Saxtti countryside, where a sense of fear and anxiety runs amongst the tourism stakeholders ahead of the new tourism season. Reason: Post-commissioning of the Mopa international airport, stakeholders here are keeping their fingers crossed over their very future. Be it the small and medium hoteliers, shack owners and other stakeholders, they have no idea how the tourism season would unfold with charter flights expected to land at the Mopa international airport instead of Dabolim airport.
Banking on chartered tourists for their survival over the years, stakeholders prefer to keep their fingers crossed. What has left them worried is over a simple question – how much percentage of the charter tourists would descend on Saxtti’s coastal belt in the coming season.
Cavelossim-based small and medium hotelier, Sarpanch Dixon Vaz expects to play host to his guests from the UK like the previous seasons. But, he has no idea whether he or any of the small and medium hotels dotting Saxtti coastal belt will get any chartered guests other than those from the UK. “This is the first tourism season we are bracing up to face post-commissioning of the Mopa aiport. International flights have shifted to the Mopa airport. Charter flights may also follow suit. In such an eventuality, we would have to wait and see how all this would impact tourism in Salcete’s coastal belt,” remarked Dixon, who is the vice-president of small and medium hotels.
Questions over charter tourism
He added; “Stakeholders from Cavelossim tourism belt, considered the hub of starred resorts, had an informal meeting recently, wherein we have realised that other than our repeat guests, the small and hotels have no idea how much business they will get from the charters.”
Outgoing president of Small and Medium hotel Owners Association, Serafino Cota echoed similar sentiments. “Fortunately, many of our regular guests from the UK have confirmed their arrivals in the coming season. This is due to the efforts of an International Tourism body which has been convincing the visitors not to cancel their bookings to Salcete in view of the commissioning of the Mopa airport,” Serafino said.
He, however, hastened to add that other than the regular UK visitors, the local tourism stakeholders have no knowledge whether they will receive a slice of the charter cake bringing Russian and other tourists to Goa.
Serafino is one of the tourism stakeholders, who had been sounding a repeated warning that the distance in the travel time from Mopa to South Goa would adversely affect tourism in down South.
“Fortunately for the small and medium hoteliers, some of our regular visitors from the UK have confirmed their bookings to South Goa, thanks to the initiative of concerned organisations, who managed to convince the tourists that any cancellations of the bookings because of shift in airport operations from Dabolim to Mopa would affect the hoteliers,” he said.
Serafino, however, hastened to add that they have no idea whether the small and medium hoteliers can expect a slice of the charters originating from other countries.
Shack owners from Saxtti coastal belt too keep their fingers crossed after the shifting of international flights to Mopa. “If international flights land at Mopa and if domestic flights from various parts of the country to land at the new airport, the situation is bound to affect the shack business along Salcete coastal belt. The question is simple: Why would someone prefer to travel to a beach shack in Salcete after landing at the Mopa airport,” he said.
Removal of traffic bottlenecks
Like many a tourism stakeholder from Salcete, Cruz, who heads the Goa Shack Owners Society as its president, has suggested that the government remove the road and traffic bottlenecks between Mopa to Margao and Mopa to the Saxtti coastal belt for smooth and quick travel movement.
