Spotlight

Beyond beaches

The industry and the government have come together to build the state as a destination for all seasons. By Dinkar Farwaha

Till the 1990s, the hospitality industry in Goa was largely dependent on charter operations in the peak season (October till March) that contributed to an average annual revenue of 70 per cent. Tourism figures and occupancy rates dropped remarkably during off-season. Realising the growing trend of corporate off-sites training, team building exercises and conferences and in an attempt to bridge the gap between occupancy levels during the off-season and the season, the industry took an initiative to tap the MICE segment.

The state government of Goa has made many inroads in the recent past to promote Goa as a MICE destination. It outlined an effective strategy to position it thus by launching promos for destinations other than Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai along with joint promotions with leading MICE organisers in the country. This in turn led to an increased contribution by the segment to the hospitality revenues in Goa. The state government has allotted a budget of Rs 200 million for marketing Goa globally. Moreover, it is building the Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat - a 46-acre IT park - which would increase demand for budget hotels and service apartments within Panaji, Dona Paula and a lot of industrial belts.

The Goa Tourism Development Corporation's (GTDC) implementation of the 'GoGoa 365 days' campaign in 2003 has also resulted in boosting the state's relatively stagnant tourism during the monsoons, aptly nicknamed 'raindrop tourism'. Sanjit Rodrigues, its managing director, informs, "To attain this, we have worked with all stakeholders in the tourism industry both in private and public sectors. Our marketing campaign overseas has moved from UK and Germany to Russia and the Balkan states, to Switzerland and Scandinavia. Goa is also aggressively targeting markets in Portugal and Spain as well as Eastern Europe."

Besides MICE, the government is also promoting other segments. The scheme proposed by the government envisages the development of heritage destinations and creating a heritage tourism circuit in the state. For this purpose, finances have been allotted (in the form of soft loans, hard loans and grant-in aids) to be given to the owners of the heritage properties for maintenance and restoration. Moreover, in keeping with the B&B scheme, houses would be kept open for accommodation and viewing. For this purpose, an outlay of Rs 15 lakh has been kept aside.

With the concept of 'raindrop tourism' in place, the government is also exploring the development of adventure tourism. The Tourism Master Plan: Goa 2011 has identified several activities like scuba diving, snorkelling, paragliding, para-sailing, yatching, river-rafting and trekking. Although these are seen more as summer activities, plans are now in place to develop inland waterways to promote river cruising in the monsoons.

Such initiatives and more have kept the economy churning and resulted in Goa being known as a round-the-year destination. "Today, Goa records almost 60 per cent occupancy during the monsoons and it keeps tourism activities alive throughout the year," informs Rodrigues. According to industry sources, the average occupancy in premium star category hotels is around 65 per cent. While occupancy levels in the months from mid-October to January touches almost 78 per cent, during the festive season (December-January), occupancy levels fall just marginally short of 100 per cent.

Upcoming supply

Boosted by trends in the state, many chains have announced plans to develop hotels here. As per industry sources, the budget segment will see a fresh supply of about 250 new rooms in the coming two to three years. On the other hand, around 980 rooms are being planned in the premium category by 2010. According to a survey by Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India and HVS International, Goa is going to witness development of 12 new hotels over a period of three to five years.

According to another HVS survey, demand of hotels in Goa by 2009 will be as high as 6,500 rooms, but supply is not likely to cross 2,800 rooms. A recent study released by CRIS INFAC (CRISIL's research arm) states that among all the leisure destinations in the country, Goa will see the highest growth in room demand in the coming few years.

Taking these factors into consideration, hotel groups like Alcon Victor, Berggruen Hotels, Phoenix, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Roots Corporation have already announced plans to develop properties in Goa. Alcon Victor, which owns resorts like Dona Sylvia (in south Goa) and Victor Exotica and a spa and ayurveda retreat Devaaya (in north Goa) is also in the process of developing a 150-room deluxe resort Grand Dona Sylvia in South Goa, which it plans to open by January 2009. In addition, it is also planning to add 150 additional rooms to its 180-room property Dona Sylvia.

Bird group, which ventured into the hotel sector last year by forming a Joint Venture alliance with Dusit Thani Group of hotels, Thailand, is building a luxury hotel in Goa. Berggruen Hotels has also announced its plan to build an upscale hotel in Goa. Phoenix Group, which recently launched Country Inns & Suites resort in Goa, is also developing a residential project in Goa. The Oberoi group is also planning to foray into Goa with the launch of a luxury hotel. Roots Corporation has announced its plan to enter Goa with its economy brand Ginger Hotels. Realty group Unitech is also building a Regent Hotel in Goa.

It won’t be long before Goa becomes a 365=day tourist destination. With the government and the industry working together, the hotel sector in Goa is destined to develop further.

(With inputs from Andrea Lopez, Mumbai)