As a wedding destination, Goa has always been a perennial favourite among both, domestic as well as international, customers. But with the demonetisation and other international destinations making a vie for the wedding pie, is this beach paradise still popular for the 'I do’s'? A panel discussion on 'Goa, is it still THE wedding destination?' was held during FHW Goa 2017 to check out the market dynamics
Goa's potential as a wedding destination and the challenges of the market were the talking points of an interesting GMs Conclave panel discussion at the recently concluded FHW Goa 2017. The esteemed panel included general managers from leading hotel brands in Goa. Shridhar Nair, GM, The Leela Goa; T J Joulak, GM, W Goa; Siddharth Savkur, GM, Alila Diwa Goa; Rohan Sable, GM, Novotel Goa Resorts & Spa and Novotel Goa Shrem Hotel and Nikhil Sasidharan, GM, Lemon Tree Amarante Beach Resort.
Speaking about the wedding market in the state, Nair said, “It is an interesting market that has been growing since the last eight to 10 years. Earlier, The Leela was more FIT driven but this has changed. The wedding segment now accounts for 10 per cent of our business and the potential is immense. In 2020 we expect 20 to 22 per cent of business to come from this segment.” He added, “We are working with the government to grow this segment. We are hoping it will continue to show huge growth. Goa has lots of advantages – connectivity has hugely improved and Goa's beaches are among the best in the world. This helps to position Goa as a wedding destination. There is also a huge NRI community throughout the world who want to host their weddings here. Two out of 10 weddings held here are NRI weddings.”
ADVANTAGE GOA
Joining the discussion Savkur agreed, “Yes Goa has several advantages as far as weddings are concerned. It lends itself to a casual vibe. Also, destination weddings are mostly a snob factor and many times is also cheaper than doing it in one's own city.”
Sasidharan stated that the segment has never seen occupancies drop. “It is a stable market, only the rates vary. There is a lack of alternatives for wedding destinations so this fact hugely favours Goa. Nature has also abundantly blessed the state, offering guests amazing backdrops for weddings.”
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