PANAJI: Under pressure from South East Asian countries, airfares and hotel tariffs in Goa have cooled off a bit. Travel and Tourism Association of Goa said that room rates and airfares have reduced in the last one week as people voted with the wallets for destinations like Kuala Lumpur, Phuket and Bali which offer visa-free travel and relatively cheaper flight tickets.
TTAG president Nilesh Shah hopes that the correction in flight fares and room rates will provide a much needed last minute boost for Goa’s crucial tourism industry.”I would say that there is around 20-30% rationalisation in prices. This should help get the crowd into Goa and make it more attractive,” said Shah.
For example, a flight ticket from Delhi to Goa on December 22 was priced at Rs 12,524 against the usual fare of about Rs 5,000. Now, a ticket from Delhi to Goa costs Rs 8,500 to Rs 10,000 for a flight on December 25.
A Delhi – Goa – Delhi return flight is now priced at Rs 13,700, just marginally more than the one way airfare that was being charged for December 22. For Bengaluru flyers, flight tickets are normally available at Rs 3,000, but had increased to Rs 10,700 for a one way ticket from Goa to the tech capital on January 2
. Now flyers will have to shell out just Rs 11,800 for a round trip for the same dates. The one way fare is merely 3,900 per person from Bengaluru. Air tickets from Kolkata to Goa which had shot up to Rs 13,000 on the Friday preceding Christmas have drastically come down and a Kolkata-GoaKolkata flight now costs Rs 14,600 for a single person.
This is only a bit higher than the usual fare of about Rs 6,500 for aone way ticket during non peak days. Airlines were counting on a huge demand for air travel for the festive season and in anticipation hiked the air tariffs sky high for popular holiday destinations.
However, many passengers turned to newer destinations or cancelled their holidays prompting the airlines to quietly reduce prices. Five star resorts as well as bed and breakfast places also bit the bullet and brought down their tariffs. “December occupancy is disappointing to be frank with other countries offering better airfares and hotel tariffs. Demand was less
. Airfares have rationalised and hotels have started rationalising prices. Now business is picking,” said Shah. More Indian tourists are choosing South East Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia instead of visiting Goa — which was once known for its pristine beaches and nightlife. “Goa was 2.5x costlier, filthier and most importantly, didn’t feel good after spending so much money for the family.
Compared to this, Vietnam’s Nha Trang was so much better. Goa has lost it,” said Abhishek Rai, a traveler who has been to Bali, Hanoi and Phuket this year but just once to Goa. Foreign travel has become abit more attractive for Indian travellers with Iran joining Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Qatar and Kenya to announce visa-free travel for Indian passport holders
TTAG president Nilesh Shah hopes that the correction in flight fares and room rates will provide a much needed last minute boost for Goa’s crucial tourism industry.”I would say that there is around 20-30% rationalisation in prices. This should help get the crowd into Goa and make it more attractive,” said Shah.
For example, a flight ticket from Delhi to Goa on December 22 was priced at Rs 12,524 against the usual fare of about Rs 5,000. Now, a ticket from Delhi to Goa costs Rs 8,500 to Rs 10,000 for a flight on December 25.
A Delhi – Goa – Delhi return flight is now priced at Rs 13,700, just marginally more than the one way airfare that was being charged for December 22. For Bengaluru flyers, flight tickets are normally available at Rs 3,000, but had increased to Rs 10,700 for a one way ticket from Goa to the tech capital on January 2
. Now flyers will have to shell out just Rs 11,800 for a round trip for the same dates. The one way fare is merely 3,900 per person from Bengaluru. Air tickets from Kolkata to Goa which had shot up to Rs 13,000 on the Friday preceding Christmas have drastically come down and a Kolkata-GoaKolkata flight now costs Rs 14,600 for a single person.
This is only a bit higher than the usual fare of about Rs 6,500 for aone way ticket during non peak days. Airlines were counting on a huge demand for air travel for the festive season and in anticipation hiked the air tariffs sky high for popular holiday destinations.
However, many passengers turned to newer destinations or cancelled their holidays prompting the airlines to quietly reduce prices. Five star resorts as well as bed and breakfast places also bit the bullet and brought down their tariffs. “December occupancy is disappointing to be frank with other countries offering better airfares and hotel tariffs. Demand was less
. Airfares have rationalised and hotels have started rationalising prices. Now business is picking,” said Shah. More Indian tourists are choosing South East Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia instead of visiting Goa — which was once known for its pristine beaches and nightlife. “Goa was 2.5x costlier, filthier and most importantly, didn’t feel good after spending so much money for the family.
Compared to this, Vietnam’s Nha Trang was so much better. Goa has lost it,” said Abhishek Rai, a traveler who has been to Bali, Hanoi and Phuket this year but just once to Goa. Foreign travel has become abit more attractive for Indian travellers with Iran joining Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Qatar and Kenya to announce visa-free travel for Indian passport holders