Goa tourism ind bleeds post attacks; hotels cut tariffs

The terror attacks in Mumbai have left the Goa tourism industry bleeding. A decline in tourist traffic has forced Goan hotels to slash room rates by a significant margin. CNBC-TV18's Neha Pandey reports.

 

Foreign tourists are running scared, shaken by the terror attacks that rocked Mumbai recently. Travel advisories from governments like UK, USA, Canada, Russia and Germany has kicked the Goan tourism industry in the gut. And so, room rates in India's premier tourist destination are plummeting.

 

Anuraag Bhatnagar, GM, Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai, says, "I think especially as far as leisure products are concerned, there could be a price dip for sure. My assessment is: prices have gone down by at least 30%-40% in certain destinations like Goa and Rajasthan among other places."

 

Post the terror attacks, Goa's travel business from Israel has almost dried up. And the number of tourists from Russia, UK and European countries has decreased. The charter business has declined nearly 30%-35% and high-end international and domestic tourist traffic to Goa has significantly slowed.

 

Ashwini Kakkar, Exec VP, Mercury Travels, said, "Some hotels during the Christmas season charged Rs 20,000, they are now giving rooms at Rs 8,000-9,000. These hotels will show poor results during the year end. The lowest category, which would have available for Rs 2,500, would now be at Rs 1,200-Rs 1300 per night. There has been a 50% decline in all categories of hotels in that region."

 

With the sudden room vacancies, Goan hotels have been left with little choice except slashing rates. And low-profile New Year celebrations will only worsen the damage.