The Small and Medium Hoteliers Association (SMHA) of Goa has claimed that it has lost 80 per cent business this year on account of a major fall in tourist arrival in the state.
Speaking to IANS, SMHA president, Santosh Divkar, said that faulty policies of the government, failure to create ease of business and resolving visa issues has led to the sorry situation.
“There are many reasons for the drop in tourist footfall in Goa. Government policies are not fostering tourism activities. Foreign tourists are getting less time to stay here as that has been reduced by the ministry. Europeans used to come down here during December and January due to the freezing cold in their regions. They used to stay here for long periods. Now, even they complain of visa hurdles. The Central Government should see all these aspects and address them,” Divkar, an hotelier from North Goa, said.
He said that compared to other tourist states, Goa has become expensive. “Flights tickets are very costly, making it difficult to come down to Goa. The price of air tickets should be controlled. It is cheaper to travel to Thailand or Sri Lanka than to Goa,” he said.
He added that there should also be some control on music and rules should be stringent.
“I am not saying stop the music. But it should be under control,” he said.
“Traffic police are harassing tourists travelling in the state. It sends a bad message,” he said.
Earlier, MLAs from the coastal state had also complained that the police harass the tourists visiting Goa.
Dixon Vaz, hotelier from South Goa, also said that there is a drop in tourist footfall.
“The government should promote tourism by offering free visas and the hassle-free facility of visa on arrival. There should also be control on flight fares. Our industry is suffering because of all these issues,” Vaz said.
He said that the dance bar culture and late night parties have sent a bad signal, which needs to be controlled.
“There are many factors which have affected tourism. The government needs to work on it,” Vaz said.
(This article has been published via a syndicated feed)
This is because of high-handed government action and local goans. Take the example of Sunburn, which is one of the world’s biggest EDM festivals. Goa should be proud that it’s happening in their state, and offer more incentives.
Rather, they found endless ways to stop this festival – cancelling the last day, not allowing music beyond 10 PM, when clearly all shacks blast music till early morning, painting all EDM lovers as some kind of drug addicts.
The same behaviour is for all tourists where if you are from the north, they will behave rudely.
1st and most important reason is the arrogance of Goans is killing the tourism of Goa.
Multifold hike in prices (stay and food) without any reason. It’s justified for a reasonable hike.
Every goan is now news reporter. They blame tourists for watever happening in goa.
If such continues, coming days are very bad for goa.
Flights from the UK are expensive now, their are more and more Hotels being built, Night Clubs being built which is not wanted in Candolim Goa, Costs are increasing year on year, me and my wife have been coming here for the past 14 Years but Goa is not what it used to be, To many Domestic travellers not spending money, the British have dropped off year after year, think this may be our last year
I think the main problem is the dust and dogs everywhere not giving a good impression