South Strategy

Goan delight

Anju Timblo, MD of Cidade de Goa, feels that Goa needs to pay attention to its infrastructure if it wants become a forerunner as a destination. By Dinkar Farwaha

"The hospitality industry in Goa needs to be revisited to address the needs of the business coming to Goa - domestic and international. There is also a need to pay attention to the infrastructure for today's requirements," says Anju Timblo, MD of Cidade de Goa.

According to her, The ARRs and occupancies of the hotel have seen a decline of 20 per cent to 30 per cent this year as compared to the previous one. "The whole world is affected. Panic and drastic actions can affect the business in the long run and therefore it is important to remain calm," she says. The strategy of Cidade de Goa during these challenging times is to be able to offer to the market a product that is affordable in its category so the occupancy builds on value for money. While, according to her, the highest revenue comes from rooms, she adds, "We have to think of offers to showcase our services with attractive combinations."

The company's HR strategy at the moment is to "further train and enhance skills of the people in the resort to offer even better services". She sheds light on the purchase decisions of the company, "We look at all the costs as necessary and ensure that every spend goes towards offering better service to our guests. We believe in not compromising on the service at any cost." When asked whether she equips the hotel with products from India or abroad, she mentions, "Today, India can access equipments both from India and other countries. We try to have a good mix of both to achieve the best value."

The way forward

Timblo believes that the way ahead is to have "an open door policy to give the most competitive product in the world market - a mix of the best sources from India and other parts of the world." According to her, more quality institutes for training are required in the industry. She feels that the ministry should take more initiatives to boost tourism. "The government always has other priorities

in the budget. Tourism needs to be accepted as a broad-based industry providing one of the top employment opportunities in related fields," she says. According to her, in difficult times reduction in tariffs of electricity, water, gas and fiscal levies helps hotels tremendously.

She feels that both mid-market and luxury segments have tremendous potential and would do well in the years to come. "Mid market and luxury have their place and both are required. Market study facilitates a balance of different categories of hotels," she says. According to

her, Goa can be a forerunner as a destination. "The industry and the government together have to keep the industry contemporary and competitive at all times," she concludes.