Depending on how one views it, the 2023-24 tourist season seems to have strode on the path set before the pandemic, with tourists from England making their presence felt in and around Candolim, and promising to return next season.
“We don’t go out every night, but, like in the UK, spend our time cooking and watching TV in our apartment, as we would have been doing at home, but minus the heat,” confesses Bertha Hawkins as she checks whether the slipper fits her.
Despite the initial delay in starting the tourism activities and the unpreparedness of the hosts, along with issues such as noise pollution in specific areas during the night and the large number of Indian tourists, the English tourists are returning to their homes feeling satisfied.
And, Barry Grannell excellently sums up the experience of most of his countrymen in his post on Goa, Paradise and Dreams, saying: “Cast your minds back! Those first 3-5 days in Goa and the shock! Then, by day 14, you were heading home and wished you were staying longer.”
The post continued: “Although we started off in Panjim, flirted with North Goa, we laid our hat in Cavelossim. Then, the scooters and the adventures started. Twenty-one years on, we still measure every place we visit against Goa, and Goa always comes out on top."
The old tourists who returned did so with trepidation because life has changed everywhere after Covid. But as Sam Ryder said, “Nothing can knock Goans off their feet. That feeling of being cared is still there.”
With the heat making its presence felt, and many on their way back home, the first timers are already discussing which flights are offering the best deals and which apartments to book for their next holiday.
“I moved down south after spending years in the north, and found the experience so great that we plan to celebrate Christmas and New Year there. It is less noisy and less crowded though we still need to experiment with more restaurants,” said Taylor, who has been visiting Goa with his wife for the last 15 years.
Unlike Taylor, Celine who claims to be returning to Goa since her first visit in 2010, thinks it is time for her to discover other destinations. “I have a lot of friends in Goa, but it is time for me to discover other places which are getting good reviews,” admits Celine.
“My discovery of Asia has been restricted to India, and Goa specifically, but it is getting a bit noisy now. For once, I felt the place is over-populated with tourists. It’s good for the economy of the place, but not me,” reasons Celine, also from the UK.
Drinking cocktails, having sundowners and relishing good steaks, with a throw in of Indian food, has been the culinary experience of many, with quite a few opting to cook at home in the evening, and step out for a good drink at night.
A number of them are also looking to drop hotels, and stay in apartments, instead. “I kept asking the hotel to fix the tap in my bathroom, and I kept being told it was being done tomorrow, and tomorrow I am leaving,” said Alan sarcastically. “A lot of my countrymen stay in apartments, and I will be doing so next year.”
You can gauge the enthusiasm of returning through this post: “Been home for nearly three weeks. Flights already booked for October, this year, till December. Just need apartment. Any suggestions?" writes Maria Henson on a Goa Tourism related page. And like her, so have many others.
For those doubtful whether the British would come, the answer, this season, is heart-warming.
