Biz hit due to no high-spending foreign tourists: Shack operators

Calangute: With a drop in tourist footfall, shack operators in the Calangute-Candolim beach belt feel the boom in trade they experienced since 2000 is almost over.“This season is the same as the last few,” said Manuel Cardozo, the president of the Traditional Shack Owners Association in Calangute.The drop in the number of high-spending domestic tourists has contributed to the problem, the shack operators said.Foreign tourists that once thronged Calangute-Candolim have dwindled. “Today there is not a single foreign tourist in Baga. It’s all packed with domestic tourists,” said John Lobo, general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) while speaking about the peak Christmas-New Year season.Shack operators yearn for foreign tourists, especially those who arrived in charters and stayed longer, assuring business. On average, their stay would last two to three weeks, while some would stay for two to three months. Most domestic tourists visit Goa for a short stay of not more than a week.According to shack operators, the modified visitor demographics have altered the dynamics of their business. With a lot of low-budget eateries having been opened, the shack business has been affected, said Lobo.Beach beds were once a big source of revenue for shack operators. But heightened competition has changed that too. “Now we give them free for tourists to lie down if they make a bill of at least Rs 500,” he said.