Fire, flight chaos and dry days: Why Goa’s Christmas-New Year rush is missing this year

“The fire coincided with elections, and together they slowed down traffic,” said Nathaniel da Costa, partner at Hideaway, a seven-year-old cocktail bar in Chapora, Vagator. “We had all our paperwork in order, so there were no compliance issues. But once the code of conduct came into force (on November 29), we weren’t allowed to host events.”

Abhishek Bahety, owner of Farzi Beach, a beachside sundowner in Morjim, pointed to another major disruption — the IndiGo pilot crisis — which resulted in several flight cancellations, many of them to Goa’s Dabolim and Manohar International Airports.

“Because of the IndiGo situation, a lot of tourists cancelled their plans. On top of that, there’s negative sentiment after the fire,” he said. Bahety added that December 19 and 20, the weekend before Christmas, were declared dry days due to the voting, while December 22 was also a dry day as results were announced.

“Today, F&B is heavily dependent on social media. Once it became public that the weekend would be dry, fewer people chose to travel to Goa. We’ll only know from Tuesday onwards if things improve,” he said.

Similar concerns were echoed by Saniya Puniani, founder of Como Agua in Vagator. “We started the season on a strong note, but then came the IndiGo crisis, followed by the fire and the code of conduct,” she said. “You couldn’t play music after 10 pm, not even at a low volume. Police and panchayat officials were constantly on patrol. The fire itself didn’t impact us directly — we’re not a club, but flight cancellations and restrictions definitely did.”

In Panjim, Dev Narvekar, bar manager at award-winning Petisco, said even traditionally busy weekend evenings are now marked by empty tables. “The Sunday after two dry days was slightly better, but still nowhere close to what this time of year usually looks like,” he said.

Narvekar believes the impact extends beyond nightlife. “It has affected all hotel and hospitality businesses. People are worried about safety and are avoiding places with wooden structures and beach shacks. If tourists don’t feel safe, hospitality simply can’t function,” he said.

He added that structural issues are also contributing to the decline. “Public transport is poor, which means most people have to drive, and then be mindful of drinking within permissible limits. Airfares have suddenly shot up, stays have become extremely expensive, and there’s no longer value for money. A mid-range restaurant charges a premium but can’t even offer a clean toilet,” he said. “Tourists know they can get better facilities abroad at the same price or even cheaper. And there’s always the added excitement of a foreign trip.”

On condition of anonymity, a founder of an establishment in North Goa, one of the regions hit hardest — Birch By Romeo Lane where the fire took place on December 7, is in this part of town, said policy decisions often work against, rather than in favour of, tourism. “All the roadwork began in November and December, exactly when people flock to Goa. The Vagator main road, the Assagao road… everything is dug up. Why now? They had the entire year,” she said.

She added that panchayat elections, held in December, brought the code of conduct into effect for nearly 20 days this year, directly clashing with peak tourist season. “Why can’t the elections move to another month? It often feels like the authorities are working against us,” she said.

Another founder, also speaking anonymously, described that there are two kinds of tourists and both are affected by the current situation. “There’s the price-conscious traveller who books flights and hotels well in advance and prefers travelling before Christmas. When their flights got cancelled, the refunds didn’t cover the cost of new tickets. They simply can’t afford the vacation anymore,” he said.

“Then there are wealthier tourists, but even they are reconsidering. Prices are now close to what it costs to go to Thailand or Sri Lanka. A villa in Bali is almost half the price of one in Goa, and often with better service. Why would you choose Goa?” he asked.

He added that the restaurant industry itself may be facing the consequences of rapid expansion. “A lot of restaurateurs saw Goa doing well during the pandemic and followed suit, it became a classic ‘monkey see, monkey do’ situation. Supply suddenly outpaced demand.”

Most restaurateurs also flagged the long-standing issue of expensive local transport. Taxi operators, they said, charge exorbitant fares that rise sharply during peak season, making travel within the state difficult for visitors.

“There’s a dichotomy,” said one owner. “On one hand, it makes Goa very expensive, especially for tourists from cities like Delhi and Mumbai. On the other hand, Goans didn’t ask people to flock here, tourists made the place popular. Locals value their susegad lifestyle and have found a way to earn maximum returns with minimal work. Why should they change?” He added that this dynamic also explains why many restaurants prefer hiring non-local staff, noting that political interests tied to taxi unions make reform unlikely.

A dip of 20-30 per cent in business

When asked to quantify the dip in business, most restaurateurs estimated a decline of 20 to 30 per cent compared to last year.

“We’re a sundowner place. People come in the evenings, not late at night, and even then we’ve seen a 25 to 30 per cent drop compared to last year,” said Bahety.

Costa echoed the sentiment. “We’ve had a few good nights, but overall sales and footfall are down by about 20 to 25 per cent,” he said.

Another factor, Costa added, is the absence of large-scale events that traditionally draw crowds to the state. “Two major festivals — Sunburn and India Bike Week — have moved away,” he said. Sunburn was hosted in Mumbai, and India Bike Week has shifted to Panchgani. Both held just the weekend gone by.

With just over a week to go for New Year’s Eve, restaurateurs remain cautiously hopeful. “We’re trying to make the most of what’s left,” said Costa. “But there’s no denying it, this year has been hard.”