One often hears about the true situation in the most unexpected places. The following was in today's goanet postings bundled together with the usual litany of problems of Goa's airport.
As I read the two stories, my reaction was: The hotels in Goa are "run very prosperously by bhaile" (till a calamity strikes) while the Goans (at least the ones on cyber-Goa) just gripe their complaints about the problems of tourism in Goa. Is the same happening to the airport issue? Kind Regards, GL Goanet News Service THE FLOOD FALLOUT DH News Service Panaji: Goa�s upmarket resorts have taken a major hit from the disruption of air and rail connectivity from Mumbai, with some hotels reporting over 50 per cent loss in business in the past week. Most cancellations have come from group bookings for conferences, though individual holiday plans have also been abruptly disrupted by the Mumbai floods. Leading hotel groups like the Taj, Marriott and Holiday Inn have been hit largely by conferences being called off. On Monday, the Goa Marriott Resort at Mira Mar, had six conferences cancelled and was expecting another two to be called off. This translated into a loss of 700 room nights, the hotel�s resident manager Niraj Chadha told Deccan Herald. �Mumbai is our primary feeder market and the disruption of connectivity is causing us major losses,� Mr Chadha said. Overseas booking were also being cancelled because of floods in Mumbai, he said. At the Holiday Inn, Cavelossim, South Goa, the situation is no different for resident manager P V Menon, whose hotel has lost business worth Rs 15 lakh in a few days. �We have already had five conferences cancelled and seen occupancy nosedive by 50 per cent,� he complained. �Some overseas tourists have been rerouting their flights via Bangalore and Delhi. But unless our links to Mumbai are restored it will be a major inconvenience,� said Dennis D�Costa, the resident manager of the Taj group�s Fort Aguada Beach Resort. The hotel has lost two major conferences as well as individual bookings. Meanwhile, most upscale resorts in Goa are reporting chock-a-block bookings for the Independence Day weekend and hoteliers are keeping their fingers crossed for the situation in Mumbai to normalise. The cheap fares and attractive packages keep Goa ticking as a monsoon destination for mid-level travellers, say hoteliers. �Conference bookings have enhanced and we�ve seen 100 per cent increase in traffic from Delhi. Goa is doing fine. We only hope Mumbai comes back on line,� says Marriott�s Chadha.
