Indian tourist hotspot Goa may never recover from the coronavirus pandemic
- It’s supposed to be high season for tourists in Goa, but you wouldn’t know it. The beach shacks are nearly empty, nightspots quiet, and many businesses shut
- A two-month lockdown last year cost the tourist industry US$1 billion, tourism workers can’t feed their families, and up to 58 per cent could lose their jobs
The sun’s golden rays fall on Goa’s smooth, sandy beaches every evening, magical as ever but strangely quiet and lonely. This holiday season, few visitors are enjoying the celebrated sunsets in the Indian party hotspot.
The unspoken fear of the coronavirus is sapping Goa’s vibrant beach shacks and noisy bars of their lifeblood.
A Portuguese colony until 1961, this western Indian state usually comes alive in December and January, its tourism-led economy booming with foreign travellers and chartered flights bringing in hordes of holidaymakers. Over the past decade, Goa had been transforming from a seasonal mecca for both hippy backpackers and rich holidaymakers to a second-home destination for India’s middle class.
Construction was booming, raising worries over the impact on fragile environments. Apartments overlooking the sea, on riverfronts or surrounded by forests have been in great demand. The pandemic and the ensuing travel restrictions have changed everything, possibly forever.
Along the popular beaches in North Goa, from Candolim to Calangute and Morjim, many landmark coffee shops, tattoo parlours and shack bars with sunbeds have shut permanently. Nightlife in popular party hubs has died.
