From Gomantak Times, Goa, 30th December 2004 'If God came to Goa He'd have to sleep by the pool' Team GT PANAJI: Even as Thailand and Sri Lanka reel under the enormity of the tragedy that has befallen them, European travel companies, having already committed to clients, are desperate to recover from the disaster with as little losses as possible. The answer, they feel, lies in Goa because it offers sunny, pal-fringed, beaches and atmosphere, which is on par with both Thailand and Sri Lanka. Moreover, Goa escaped the disastrous effects of the Tsunami and is considered a safe destination. However, despite repeated requests, the state is unable to absorb the few thousand tourists who would be diverted to Goa if the operators had their way. As Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) president Charles Bonifacio put it, "We do not have the capacity to handle the existing in-flows. We have been receiving 3,000 more passengers per week as compared to the last season but there hasn 't been a proportionate increase in rooms." Vinay Albuquerque of the Victor Alcon Group says, "The demand was already huge and is only getting bigger. If you think November and December were bad, January onwards will be worse considering that Phuket and Colombo are out of bounds. We ourselves have had a high materialization rate. All the thumb-rules that we have followed for years have been shattered. Even if God comes to Goa on a holiday He would have to sleep by the poolside. There has been a phenomenal increase that we are finding difficult to cope with." Bonifacio adds: "The Belgian and Dutch charter tourists used to spend five days in either Sri Lanka or Thailand and then head to Goa. Now that they cannot go to those countries they want to spend their entire holidays in Goa but we just cannot absorb them. There are five extra Russian charters that are coming in only for the New Year celebrations. We have tried asking the companies to issue stop-sales but they don't agree. We have even asked newer properties to take in charter tourists but we still do not have enough space." According to Bonifacio the trend will continue for some time and he says that even room have been sold out for the 2005-2006 season. According to Albuquerque, Goa will need at least another 300 rooms as a stopgap arrangement to deal with the current rush. However it will be difficult and though the Central Government is offering low-interest loans for budget hotels, infrastructure development will be some months away, during which time Goa could lose out on the demand. Ernest Dias of SITA MICE, which has put up 10 tents at the Radisson White Sands Resort, says it is too soon to say how the disaster could affect Goa. He, however, is grateful that Goa got by unscathed, "It is fortunate that Goa did not fall victim to the disaster. It would have been catastrophic." ("Reuven Proenca" <[EMAIL PROTECTED])