Apart from Jan and Feb this season has been very quiet,as for visa on arrival for Brits it's a zero chance of it happening.

John

I agree that the chance of visa on arrival is vitually nil.

it's been noticeable that the tourist office in Goa has been wooing travellers from Germany, Portugal and several other Euro countries in an attempt to make up the shortfall, if in fact there has been a shortfall as lots of the reports I read on the net from Goa seem to say that numbers haven't fallen.
To be fair I would prefer visa on arrival but I don't lose any sleep over the present system,it does work (mostly), however the cost of the visas and the associated postage costs do make a difference, especially for short term visitors, i.e. two weeks, for longer stayers it is less important.
The claim that the visa charges are a reciprocal measure against the cost and effort of obtaining a British visa for Indians may be true but the Indian govt should realise that Brits going to Goa are almost all simply going for pleasure and other countries are available, whereas Indians coming to Britain are far less likely to be simply holidaymakers and will be visiting family etc and as such are not as free to choose other destinations.
The chances are that our next visit to Goa will in all probability be our last, as we are getting a bit tired of doing the same thing and the added expense makes other destinations seem more attractive.

I have to be honest and say that I didn't find Goa particularly quiet when we were there in Jan/Feb. Quite often we went to shacks that we liked to find them full - and that wasn't because there were fewer beds.

There are certainly fewer English people and the Russian invasion continues apace. I think Goa has reached the stage where it couldn't function without Russian tourism. It's a shame that Russians don't speak good English and we generally don't do Russian. In the past I've found some Russians to be overbearing and rude and there are certainly some that still are (as there are with Brits!), but generally they were fine.

I don't expect visas on arrival to happen any time soon and the new fees will damage the "two week" holiday business but most people now stay for longer and it won't put us off.

Hi,

We got back from Goa on Sunday, and it is really quiet. We have gone to gone middle of April and was on one of the last planes back at the end of April, but as we left on Sunday already a couple of shacks had closed and we heard shops in Candolim were closing as well, it felt like end of season. We were lucky we went Dec/Jan so our visa was still in date, so we got a cheap two weeker, but if you had to pay for the visa as well, it was not cheap. We even had taxis shouting at us to ask if we needed a cab, definitely not what happened in Dec/Jan. Whether it is talk or not, alot of people we spoke to said they were having a break from Goa next year, so lets wait and see. Myself after going to goa nearly every year and twice some years, I am looking at Cuba for two weeks, at the moment the flights are coming up between 700 - 750 each, add the visa and the accommodation (plus rumours were rife that the visa would go up again before september) it just may be too much for us. Cuba all inclusive for two weeks is £1600. So alot of thinking to do. I will my friends though, which is what takes me back every year as I miss them.!

One of the things to bear in mind is that staying in an AI hotel in Cuba will be a very different experience to what you are used in Goa. Not necessarily better or worse but definitely different. For one thing there simply isn't anything remotely like the beach shack culture that seems to be one of the main attractions of Goa for many repeat visitors.

SM

I know, and I will miss it. I love the place but we do need to go to other places now and again, and it just makes us want to go back to Goa more! (All I need to do now is convince my husband, the pull of the honeybee is just so strong!)

You'll just have to make sure that he acquire a taste for rum instead!

SM

As Fiona says it is really really quiet here in Goa now and has been for some weeks, the season end has come so very early and places are shutting and many already shut, It was brilliant meeting you by the way Fiona

i walk the beach most days and a lot of shacks have gone between Candolim and calangute and those that remain are empty apart from hot spots like Calangute steps and baga creek end that are full of domestic tourists having fun, but unfortunately many of them have no respect for the environment and there is a lot of glass from broken beer bottles and rubbish strewn about

Many long stayers have now found grounds new elsewhere like Vietnam , malasia and Thailand due to various issues (the now abolished 2 mth rule/ visa probs generally/ the property scam etc) but more of a concern are the number of two and three weekers who have been coming for many years who are going elsewhere next season... because they dont have issues with 2 mth rule and property so are making their decisions and choices probably on other issues (visa price increase/ infrastructure/flight prices etc)

But on the other hand there are still a lot of Brits who love Goa and i am one of them... so we might be outnumbered by Russians but i for one wont be going anywhere else for good just yet
Visa on arrival really IS being talked about this time, i know people are sceptical (understandably so) but if it happens i think we might see the uk tourism here pick up again and also there are a lot of people who have yet to discover Goa who would prob give it a go if that happened... ?? who knows watch this space

Knowing the Indians love of officialdom and red tape, should the visa on arrival ever be introduced to UK visitors then I can see nothing but headaches, queues, queues and more queues. Imagine 300 plus people arriving all at once and waiting for the jolly immigration officials examining each and everyone's passport AND visa application form along with dealing with all that money etc etc, nightmare!

Never thought of that!! But it's so obvious now you've said it. Fast track at Mumbai was painfully slow last night.I can just see everyone camped out at the airport!!

Would much prefer a visa prior to landing, just to know I wouldn't be turned away for any reason once at Dabolim.
A simplified website to obtain one for starters would do, and also scrap the silly form you have to fill in on the plane (what's the point in this if you have been granted a visa)
Looking forward to 2014