Goa is witnessing a high influx of tourists after the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Although the restrictions were eased from August, the state government has lifted the Covid-19 curfew and threw open casinos, spas and massage parlours, that had been closed since April, just last week.
A large number of crowds can be seen at restaurants, casinos, boat cruises, street markets. Many tourists are flocking to beaches like Calangute, Baga, Colva, Anjuna, Miramar, Dona Paula. However, many are still not abiding by the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.
Several businesses that rely only on tourism have started seeing an influx of tourists. ‘In the state during weekends, around 60 to 95 per cent of hotels are booked. Over 3-4 hotels are completely booked. As the capacity of tourism is 50%, the bookings in hotels have increased. The bookings are important because workers, businesses and hoteliers are dependent on it", said Gauresh Dhond, Hotelier
On Sunday, many tourists had a hard time finding a hotel for booking. Currently, the tourist visiting Goa are domestic tourists.
"Currently only Domestic tourists are here, but there are more than 2000 hotels that are completely dependent on international tourists. If International tourist arrives there will be more profitable to us. Therefore, the visas for international tourists should be open soon", said Nilesh Shah, President, Hotel and Tourism Association.