PANAJI: Though the month of January so far may have brought in more tourists to Goa as compared to the previous month, the overall tourism season continues to be bleak with hoteliers offering huge discounts. In some cases, hoteliers are expecting a huge 25 to 35 percent drop in their revenues for the month January 2018 as compared to the same month in 2017.
Bhushan Bordekar, general manager, Windsor Bay in Calangute, said, “Our tariffs are around 35% down this January compared to previous January. The occupancy at our four properties is good till January 12, but after that, only on weekends will the tourists be flowing in. Otherwise, there is hardly any business.”
Bordekar continued, “For a 3-star property like ours, tariffs on weekend are in the range of Rs 3,000 per night. Last year, it was around Rs 4,500 per night plus GST.”
Hoteliers are extremely concerned because January used to be the month where they would make money to cover off-season losses. But, this year, even in January, the occupancy rates have come down drastically.
Ralph de Sousa, chairman, de Souza Group, said, “Every year in January, Goa gets more tourists than December. So, this is only natural that one can see more tourists now. Regular tourists, especially Russians, know that Goa is an expensive destination around Christmas and New Year’s. Therefore, they postpone their trip to January.”
De Sousa continued, “However, average occupancy in 2-star and 3-star hotels is likely to be around 65% in January this year, which is just sufficient for them to reach break-even. Earlier, 2-stars and 3-stars would do 85%-90% occupancy in January. 4-star and 5-star hotels will also see a drop in average occupancy to 70%-75% this January compared to 90% earlier.”
Hoteliers will be really exhausting their financial resources, if they do only 60%-70% occupancy in January. Their concern is how they will pay their bills when monsoon arrives this year. Even the hotels, which are doing good business in January, are doing so by slashing their tariffs.
Polly D’Cruz, general manager, The Golden Crown Hotel & Spa in Colva, said, “We are sold out till January 14th. From January 15th to 20th, there is a minor drop in our occupancy. But, we are again doing good business in the last week of January. However, our average tariff in January this year is expected to be 10%-15% lesser than average tariff in January last year.”
