Judging by some of the flight and holiday offers on the go just now, Goa is going to have a lean time again this year, certainly as far as the UK package market goes
Certainly the recession caused some of the fall off, although I cant think of many destinations that have shed quite so many UK tourists as Goa. Although I've done my share of moaning on this site, Goa still offers fairly good value, although nothing like it once did.
The visa nonsense must be another factor in the drop with both the cost and also the hassle of applying online putting a lot of people off.
One of the major factors however in my opinion is the large package holiday companies. Since the coming together of most of them in to the two big players they seem to have stopped "pushing"Goa as a winter destination. Flights have been slashed, two centre pick ups make the journey longer. A lot of their attention is now focused on the likes of Sharm etc. It's all about cost, they are now claiming the Red Sea resorts are not longhaul in their book, allowing them to do away with some perks such as entertainment and suchlike on their flights. You just need to go into any High St. travel agent and see the choices, and brochures on offer, which concentrate on Goa.
The huge drop in interest in Goa is also highlighted on this site. A few years ago when I started posting here they'd be a real buzz about here at this time of the year, but now just look at the number of posts each day, each season less and less.
Certainly the scheduled traffic into Goa has increased during the past couple of years, We're off ourselves in a couple of days for our three week stay with Qatar, but this increase is from regular visiters who've switched over from the package market, for a variety of reasons. I would'nt imagine theres a great many first timers coming in this way.
All in all as far as the UK market goes, I really think it wont improve without a big effort from the likes of Thomsons and Thomas Cook, but somehow or other I cant see that happening. I'd be interested in hearing other posters take on this
Alan
Alan I agree with you regarding the drop in numbers of new people seemingly heading to Goa (even on this forum) I have a feeling the ridiculous prices being quoted earlier in the year have a lot to do with it and a lot of people will have been put off and decided to try elsewhere. I know there will be some who will say ''it's better to leave it late'' when it comes to booking. We left it as late as we possibly could before booking and to be honest we are happy with what we paid we got the hotel we wanted so see no point in looking to see what prices are now. We both work for a company with over 2000 staff so there is no guarantee we will get the same weeks although we have'nt had a problem so far, and thats another reason for us booking early. I do think there's been a big push towards the Red Sea resorts and that seems to be a job well done by their Tourist Board. I personally think the numbers have been dropping for the last few years and the vast majority of visitors are ''old hand'' and the less visitors does'nt seem to have a down side for us and what we want out of our holiday, in some cases it helps especially when booking rooms when we visit the south for a few days.Hopefully the tour operators have been caught out by their greed but lets see how many flight times get changed or how many take off half full......cheers Keith
I couldnt believe some of the holidays available on the Jewel in the Crown website at the beginning of November and all the holidays were departing around about just now.
I could have got a flight only for £354 for 8, 10, 11 or 15 nights.
If I wanted accommodation I could have got The Riverside Regency, Village Royale and a few others for £400 return for 15 nights.
Of course the problem for me would have been applying for a Visa, but the turnaround in Scotland is quite good so it wouldnt have been a problem.
The only unfortunate factor was the Monarch flight
but as I said in a previous thread if its a means to an end then who cares 
I think the 2 month ruling is also putting a lot of people off.
Hope you and your wife have a fantastic holiday Gramps.
I could have got a flight only for £354 for 8, 10, 11 or 15 nights.
If I wanted accommodation I could have got The Riverside Regency, Village Royale and a few others for £400 return for 15 nights.
Of course the problem for me would have been applying for a Visa, but the turnaround in Scotland is quite good so it wouldnt have been a problem.
The only unfortunate factor was the Monarch flight
but as I said in a previous thread if its a means to an end then who cares I think the 2 month ruling is also putting a lot of people off.
Hope you and your wife have a fantastic holiday Gramps.
The ridiculous 2 month rule certainly hasn't helped matters, I don't understand why on earth the Indian Government need to make it so difficult for us to visit - you would think they would be welcoming us with open arms :que.
Like so many of us, we too have changed from going package to flying Qatar and arranging our own accommodation, it isn't that much more expensive and we are happy with what we know - ' boring old f***ts
I'm not sure youngsters would be attracted to Goa these days, I think if I was a good few years younger I would be looking for somewhere more exciting to holiday.
Don't get me wrong I love Goa but it does seem to be geared towards the older holiday maker these days - suits me fine
Like so many of us, we too have changed from going package to flying Qatar and arranging our own accommodation, it isn't that much more expensive and we are happy with what we know - ' boring old f***ts
I'm not sure youngsters would be attracted to Goa these days, I think if I was a good few years younger I would be looking for somewhere more exciting to holiday.
Don't get me wrong I love Goa but it does seem to be geared towards the older holiday maker these days - suits me fine
dont know about quiet,,,,we booked our flights last jan,£340 each for 5 wks and booked our own accomadation, our friends decided to come with us 6 weeks ago and our flight is full going out and coming back,most of the accomadation we have booked {we,re travelling around before getting to goa for chrs/new year] is also full,they havent been able to find anything at a reasonable price in calangute/baga so are going down south.and theyv,e already spent over a £1000 more than us.
Around Christmas & New Year it will always be a problem accomodation wise,as thats when all the Mumbai crowd arrive in their thousands, also at busier times, with the drastic reduction in UK charter flights, getting a seat will be problematic. The gist of my post was the large drop in UK numbers comparded to years gone by. With the hugh increase in local tourists, and Russians as well, I'm sure Goa will still be busy, just not with UK tourists.
Alan
Alan
There was a meeting a couple of weeks ago here in goa with the British tour companies/reps etc.The general perception was that the main Uk charter companies will pull out of goa in 18 months time.This was mainly put down because of low demand and poor accomodation standards.
John
John
Very interesting,but I'm not sure if I buy their reasoning. In the main, Goans accommodation has always been substandard, compared to other tourist destinations. However it never kept the numbers down in years gone by. The reason for the low demand is due, I suspect, to a deliberate policy by the big two main companies to do little or nothing to sell Goa as a winter destination, to prospective customers, but rather to point them elsewhere, where presumabley, they feel that a bigger profit margin can be attained.
Alan
Alan
Maybe the Topic should have been called , Where have all the UK Tourists gone , because their are certainly plenty of Russain & Domestic Tourists about , in Baga/Calangute.
To support what jcbrum was saying , I was talking to a couple of Reps last night , and they were quite open that , due to poor demand in the UK , they have had to slash prices , basically just to minimise their losses , furthermore they said that they will not be renewing many of their contracts with Hotels , and the reason for this although primarily due to the poor UK demand , was also because the Hoteliers were unwilling to accept the rates being offered to them.
To top it all , they also were of the opinion that any Holidays on offer next year will be aimed at the upper end of the Market -- ie Expensive.
So looks like Goa has reached its "Tipping Point" . Which is certainly true re Prices this year , one good thing about the Russains being here in Numbers is that they demand discounts in the Shacks/Bars/ Restaurants , and get it -- a group of them told me that they wont use a place unless they get at least 20% . Ive tried it , and it works. Another thing they told me that they do , is take their own Vodka /Beer , and agree to pay a service charge for use of the glasses and buy soft drinks ,makes sense when you think about it .
To support what jcbrum was saying , I was talking to a couple of Reps last night , and they were quite open that , due to poor demand in the UK , they have had to slash prices , basically just to minimise their losses , furthermore they said that they will not be renewing many of their contracts with Hotels , and the reason for this although primarily due to the poor UK demand , was also because the Hoteliers were unwilling to accept the rates being offered to them.
To top it all , they also were of the opinion that any Holidays on offer next year will be aimed at the upper end of the Market -- ie Expensive.
So looks like Goa has reached its "Tipping Point" . Which is certainly true re Prices this year , one good thing about the Russains being here in Numbers is that they demand discounts in the Shacks/Bars/ Restaurants , and get it -- a group of them told me that they wont use a place unless they get at least 20% . Ive tried it , and it works. Another thing they told me that they do , is take their own Vodka /Beer , and agree to pay a service charge for use of the glasses and buy soft drinks ,makes sense when you think about it .
Goa has been progressively more expensive each season. I know prices go up, but Goa seems to have gone up more than most.
With regards to the Tour Operators, are there less flights because there are less tourists, or are there less tourists because there are less flights?
With regards to the Tour Operators, are there less flights because there are less tourists, or are there less tourists because there are less flights?
The Russian tourist numbers have increased as much as 6 fold I am told. They dominate everywhere. They are also attract youngsters.
The Russians look at things in a different light to the more aged Brits, spend their money on cheaper food and buying from liquor stores rather than bars, but still using the bars to sit in. I vaguely remember doing the same thing in nightclubs when I was a teenager and couldn't afford the drinks. A girl friends handbag was very handy to conceal a bottle so I guess I can't condemn the practice though I have seen the error of my youth !!
The local market will have to adjust to accommodate change, the Russians want different things to the Brits/other Europeans. They also begrudge taxis so I can see less of them around and more bike hire businesses.
The Russians look at things in a different light to the more aged Brits, spend their money on cheaper food and buying from liquor stores rather than bars, but still using the bars to sit in. I vaguely remember doing the same thing in nightclubs when I was a teenager and couldn't afford the drinks. A girl friends handbag was very handy to conceal a bottle so I guess I can't condemn the practice though I have seen the error of my youth !!
The local market will have to adjust to accommodate change, the Russians want different things to the Brits/other Europeans. They also begrudge taxis so I can see less of them around and more bike hire businesses.
How right you all are , we as a family have opted for sharm this christmas as goa was just too expensive for us and we couldnt find the kind of accomodation we wanted (family room for 4 ) in candolim, not even the highland beach, they wanted to split us up into 2 rooms so we opted for sharm and saved a few ££ and got a family room all inc for a lot less than goa direct flights from glasgow too, none of the plane hopping we usually have to do, we still like goa but i feel there driving us away sharm is ok and for the savings were making and the sunshine it'l do us
Just seen a offer, three weeks in a dormhouse, £120..... cannot believe this, never since a price that low for years.!!! I am sure it is the visa (the two month rule) as we are going Christmas so cannot take advantage of this offer, othere year we would have already been for at least a week, and would have done the same if not for the visa issue.
So where is this offer????? Please!!
icelolly.com
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