Calangute: While people are expected to throng Calangute on the New Year’s night on Sunday, this has been a comparatively low-key year-ending season, tourism stakeholders said.
“It is not as crowded as it used to be in the past. Maybe the high air fares, hotel tariffs, and costs of everything else have put people off,” said Shawn Martin, former Calangute sarpanch and hotelier.
Stakeholders said the regular, annual visitors have largely stayed away this season, perhaps because of the negative publicity.“I don’t see the normal annual crowd, which is perhaps down by 50%,” said John Lobo, the Baga-based general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society. He added, “There is a big fish that’s destroying the image of Goa and trying to shift the crowd to some other destination.”
Goa is no longer the top tourist destination, with near empty venues at the peak season, said Colin D’Cruz, a jazz musician. He added, “The government needs to wake up to 10pm deadlines and to taxis that have literally driven away tourists from Goa.”
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who owns a number of hotels, said, “This year, we have seen a major decline in foreign and domestic tourists.”
He added, “There may be crowds for two-three days, but Goa is about 365 days. We have to study why this decline has happened.”
The comparatively smooth traffic flow drew praise from stakeholders. “The traffic arrangements by police were very good. At every junction, one can see cops,” Martin said.
However, others complained of harassment by traffic police. “Traffic police are running behind tourists who are not wearing helmets or seatbelts. They should instead check for drunk driving,” a stakeholder said.
“It is not as crowded as it used to be in the past. Maybe the high air fares, hotel tariffs, and costs of everything else have put people off,” said Shawn Martin, former Calangute sarpanch and hotelier.
Stakeholders said the regular, annual visitors have largely stayed away this season, perhaps because of the negative publicity.“I don’t see the normal annual crowd, which is perhaps down by 50%,” said John Lobo, the Baga-based general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society. He added, “There is a big fish that’s destroying the image of Goa and trying to shift the crowd to some other destination.”
Goa is no longer the top tourist destination, with near empty venues at the peak season, said Colin D’Cruz, a jazz musician. He added, “The government needs to wake up to 10pm deadlines and to taxis that have literally driven away tourists from Goa.”
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who owns a number of hotels, said, “This year, we have seen a major decline in foreign and domestic tourists.”
He added, “There may be crowds for two-three days, but Goa is about 365 days. We have to study why this decline has happened.”
The comparatively smooth traffic flow drew praise from stakeholders. “The traffic arrangements by police were very good. At every junction, one can see cops,” Martin said.
However, others complained of harassment by traffic police. “Traffic police are running behind tourists who are not wearing helmets or seatbelts. They should instead check for drunk driving,” a stakeholder said.