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Inbound tourism hit hard in Goa, Kerala & Rajasthan by Mumbai terror attacks

Post Mumbai terror attacks, TravelBiz Monitor tracked down the impact on the top three inbound tourist destinations of the country- Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan and the preventive measures taken by them to revive inbound tourism.

Speaking about the effect on tourism in Goa, Elvis Gomes, Managing Director, GTDC said, “The impact on tourism was felt immediately the day after the terror attacks. There were about 20 per cent cancellations, as Mumbai being the main gateway for chartered groups. We have sent letters to domestic and international tour operators to revive the positive image of Goa as a destination. We believe it to be a short term crisis, which will get over soon.” Shyam Satardekar, Chairman, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), said that tourism in Goa had already been witnessing low business, ten per cent in domestic tourists and 20 per cent in international market, due to the global economic recession. “There have been lot of cancellations for this month but the state is expecting it’s tourism to revive by next year. As a safeguard measure the coastline security in Goa, especially the most-visited beaches in North Goa has been increased,” stated Satardekar. Adding about the security measures Gomes informed that more precautions are being taken at famous tourist destinations like the North Goa coastal belt, Saturday night market etc. He stated that the Home Ministry is also organising a meeting with various sections of the society for effective prevention measures.

Dr Venu, Secretary, Kerala Tourism informed that due to the economic recession Kerala Tourism was already prepared for a slow season (20 per cent fall). “Now, post the terror attacks in Mumbai, December will prove to be an extremely poor season for business (fall by more than ten per cent), though we are expecting a certain amount of recovery in the next month as by then travel advisories issued by various countries against travelling to India will be withdrawn. Also, the state government along with the tourism industry has constituted a working group to manage the crisis,” said Dr. Venu. He further added, “Kerala is going to be more resilient than other destinations because our tourism is boosted by a healthy mix of domestic, as well as international tourists.”

Rajasthan, that entertains one third of the international tourist arrivals in India is also facing huge losses. Randhir Singh, General Secretary, Indian Heritage Hotels Association said, “After the terror attacks in Mumbai we have faced cancellations in Rajasthan, but what is worrying us more is that there have been no fresh booking enquiries for January 2009. To handle the current crisis we have been trying to get in touch with the state government bodies but there is lack of any political leadership because of the ongoing elections.” Meanwhile Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is trying to win back the trust of the tourists via messages on its official website as a response to the travel advisories, which were issued by UK, USA, Australia, Canada and Singapore against travelling to India.

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