Wedding planners bring in the moolah for Goa hotels

Non-resident Indians (NRI's) are bringing a different sort of business to the Goan coast through marriages.

While nearly 75 per cent Goan families have some members living abroad, this particular business is driven by NRIs from all along the coast - from Mumbai, different parts of Gujarat, Bangalore and sometimes even as far as Delhi and from Uttar Pradesh.

With Goa providing the best backdrop and NRIs who want a desi wedding sans the troubles involved in organising a Hindu religious wedding, the Goan hotels are playing host to the perfection.

With each weddings costing anywhere between Rs 30-50 lakh, depending on the season and other comforts, it is growing as a niche business for every big hotel in the town.

Said Jaydeep Khanna, area sales manager of Taj Exotica and Taj Holiday Village, "Most of these wedding customers have a NRI angle. These people come back to India to have a wedding and want a full five day ritual from Haldi to Mehndi, but none of them have the workforce or time to arrange for one. Again they also want to spend quality time with family members, they generally invite them all out to a holiday spot and enjoy the five days of togetherness.''

"The demand has increased by 25 per cent in just three years and it is such a big affair to arrange that now we have got everyone from flower decorators to mandap people on our payroll. Previously there used to be five to six such weddings in a year, that also of big industrialists, but now we alone are handling two dozen weddings a year,'' he added.

Only the bride and groom need to be present for a such a custom made wedding to take place and also pocketfull of dollars, as only fireworks of these designer weddings can cost from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh. Oven 80 rooms are booked in the chosen hotels for four days and the swanky affair includes traditional sangeet, mehndi, haldi and every other rituals of a Hindu marriage.

Said Lalit Mishra of Cidade Goa, "These weddings are reflecting the change in lifestyles, where weddings are no more rituals held at family homes but rather a time to let your hair down. With NRIs offering the core business along with few Indian clients, this calls for precision in management as the clients do not want any headache inspite of the lavish affair they want. So all the five star hotels and mid-budget hotels are ready to take this challenge. People with lesser budget opt for June and July as the time whereas January-February are the costliest months as the tourist season is also in full swing during that time.''

The wedding business is bringing in around Rs 1,000 crore to the state and according to the president of Tourism Committee Ralph de Sousa, it is set to increase in coming years.

"These weddings are not only pushing up the hotel business but also bolstering such businesses like decorators, catering and flower supplies. It has got a multiplier effect on every other business. ====Goa is cashing in on the beauty to get such ceremonies here apart from traditional hospitality. While income from these ceremonies are also taken under tourism, this is a niche segment that needs to be nurtured,'' de Sousa added.