Goa's economy for long has been driven by the power of the pleasure of tourism which has pampered Goa's economic feathers for the last 35 odd years bringing it on top of India's tourism destinations owing to its natural wealth of beaches which has been Goa's USP in this part of the world.
Goa with its pleasant weather, green landscape and golden sands peppered with tall palm trees was known to be first discovered as a tourist haven by the flower children of the sixties, a synonym for the hippies ( made famous by the idealistic young people who were known to gather in the US city of San Francisco during the sixties at the time of Summer of Love.)
The hippies probably stumbled on Goa accidentally and fell for its charm. Add to that Goa's laid back "Succegaad" attitude and probably the indifference of the local authorities in Goa to take note of the eccentric ways o the hippies, they thrived and many of them made Goa their home.
However with the onset of the eighties Goa saw a turnaround in tourism which was by now taken seriously and small efforts of promotion of tourism gave flying results.The eighties therefore saw Goa hitting the right cords in tourism with novel schemes unique to Goa such as the introduction of "rent back hotels" a Goan innovation which hit off well with tourists on small budgets looking for a cheap holiday in Goa India.
Added to the rent back hotels was the lure of Charter flights to Goa which intermingled with domestic tourists and suddenly Goa had arrived. Those were the days when the state was catering to the tastes of western European tourists who used to flock to Goa in large numbers as it was a economically sound option for them to travel to Asia and have the pleasure of enjoying cheap holidays in Goa, India.
During that period of time domestic tourists were not encouraged much in Goa and therefore domestic tourists used to naturally feel let down by the tourism industry of Goa compared to the treatment that European tourists were being given in Goa. However in the present age it is the domestic tourists and tourists from East European countries who have made Goa their favorite haunt, while the tourists from western European countries appear to be on a gradual decline.
Naturally Goa has seen a good season in occupancy this very year with the influx of domestic tourists and the East European travelers. While a charter tourist for the East European countries is stationed in Goa for around 14 days, there is no specific time limit as far as domestic tourists go . However it has been observed that the average capacity of the domestic Indian tourists in Goa stay for around 3-4 days. Such tourists usually come to Goa in groups and are normally the younger category. Honeymoon couples also make a beeline for Goa ,it being a cheap holiday option coupled with the tranquility that a honeymoon in Goa deserves.
There is also another market of tourism which has slowly but surely opened up in Goa which is the wedding destination market, which helped Goa witness plenty of weddings being held on its shores both from Indian clients as well as foreign clients who want to have their wedding in Goa normally planned at a location on the coastline to set up a Goa beach wedding. Beach weddings in Goa have therefore changed the demography of the tourism scene in Goa to a certain extent. So from non-resident Indians(NRIs) to wealthy Indians to the middle class and on the other side the curious foreigners from all classes are all interested in a Goan beach wedding on Goa's famous beaches. Cheap holidays to Goa India have therefore transformed into a mega market with plenty of offshoots of tourism serving Goa well.
Corporate conferences is another area that has kept the hotels in Goa on their toes. Everybody in India on the domestic front seems to want to have their corporate conference, dealer meet, agents conference, service meets or any corporate congregation in Goa as it offers unmatched facilities of business coupled with the pleasure that only Goa can offer.
Goa with its pleasant weather, green landscape and golden sands peppered with tall palm trees was known to be first discovered as a tourist haven by the flower children of the sixties, a synonym for the hippies ( made famous by the idealistic young people who were known to gather in the US city of San Francisco during the sixties at the time of Summer of Love.)
The hippies probably stumbled on Goa accidentally and fell for its charm. Add to that Goa's laid back "Succegaad" attitude and probably the indifference of the local authorities in Goa to take note of the eccentric ways o the hippies, they thrived and many of them made Goa their home.
However with the onset of the eighties Goa saw a turnaround in tourism which was by now taken seriously and small efforts of promotion of tourism gave flying results.The eighties therefore saw Goa hitting the right cords in tourism with novel schemes unique to Goa such as the introduction of "rent back hotels" a Goan innovation which hit off well with tourists on small budgets looking for a cheap holiday in Goa India.
Added to the rent back hotels was the lure of Charter flights to Goa which intermingled with domestic tourists and suddenly Goa had arrived. Those were the days when the state was catering to the tastes of western European tourists who used to flock to Goa in large numbers as it was a economically sound option for them to travel to Asia and have the pleasure of enjoying cheap holidays in Goa, India.
During that period of time domestic tourists were not encouraged much in Goa and therefore domestic tourists used to naturally feel let down by the tourism industry of Goa compared to the treatment that European tourists were being given in Goa. However in the present age it is the domestic tourists and tourists from East European countries who have made Goa their favorite haunt, while the tourists from western European countries appear to be on a gradual decline.
Naturally Goa has seen a good season in occupancy this very year with the influx of domestic tourists and the East European travelers. While a charter tourist for the East European countries is stationed in Goa for around 14 days, there is no specific time limit as far as domestic tourists go . However it has been observed that the average capacity of the domestic Indian tourists in Goa stay for around 3-4 days. Such tourists usually come to Goa in groups and are normally the younger category. Honeymoon couples also make a beeline for Goa ,it being a cheap holiday option coupled with the tranquility that a honeymoon in Goa deserves.
There is also another market of tourism which has slowly but surely opened up in Goa which is the wedding destination market, which helped Goa witness plenty of weddings being held on its shores both from Indian clients as well as foreign clients who want to have their wedding in Goa normally planned at a location on the coastline to set up a Goa beach wedding. Beach weddings in Goa have therefore changed the demography of the tourism scene in Goa to a certain extent. So from non-resident Indians(NRIs) to wealthy Indians to the middle class and on the other side the curious foreigners from all classes are all interested in a Goan beach wedding on Goa's famous beaches. Cheap holidays to Goa India have therefore transformed into a mega market with plenty of offshoots of tourism serving Goa well.
Corporate conferences is another area that has kept the hotels in Goa on their toes. Everybody in India on the domestic front seems to want to have their corporate conference, dealer meet, agents conference, service meets or any corporate congregation in Goa as it offers unmatched facilities of business coupled with the pleasure that only Goa can offer.
