Panaji: As the state gears up for the influx of tourists from this month, small and medium hoteliers have said they are seeing tourist footfall only during the weekend.
“Bookings are there but hotels are not full during the week days and the clientele is not of good quality. Their spending capacity is low,” rued small hospitality establishment owners.
“Room bookings for the year-end have started. There is still plenty of accommodation available for the last week of the month for smaller hotels,” Goa Small & Medium Hoteliers Association president Santosh Divkar said on Sunday.
He said the party season has kicked off in the state. However, the absence of music festivals and sound restrictions has affected tourist footfall and occupancy of the mid-sized segment.
“In the north, the tourists are seen mainly around Calangute and Morjim. They are not seen in other parts,” Divkar maintained.
The EDM festival Sunburn, which used to bring in a mass of music loving tourists to the state, moved out to Mumbai this year. The festival was held in Dhargal in 2024 after residents in North Goa’s coastal belt demanded its relocation.
Auto event, the India Bike Week, which has a history of being held in Goa, has moved to Panchgani, Mahableshwar.
Hotelier Serafino Cota from Cavelossim said small hotels in South Goa district are witnessing a slight improvement in occupancy as compared to the 2024 season.
“We are optimistic for the year-end. Hotels in the south get the foreign charter tourists. We are missing foreign visitors from the UK,” he said.
Cota said the state is having 60 charter flights operated by TUI Airways, during the ongoing season.
“Once upon a time there were 800 charter flights from the UK,” he recalled, remarking that the charter tourism season has shrunk.
In the past, international charter flights arrived in November and continued until April, while now the season ends by mid-February.
Five-star resorts are witnessing good occupancy due to the wedding season.
“Hotels have decreased the wedding package rates this year,” divulged the general manager of a hotel chain.
The state registered a 6.23 per cent overall increase in tourist arrivals between January and September, this year. Domestic arrivals increased 5.36 per cent, rising from 69.24 lakh in 2024 to 72.96 lakh visitors.
International tourist arrivals increased from 2.59 lakh to 3.36 lakh visitors.
