Belgaum is Goans preferred destination

On a week end Belgaum is full of Goans. See Car Parking anywhere and you will see all GA, Goa registered cars. All hotels full to capacity with maximum visitors from Goa.

Geographical, cultural and ethnic proximity attract the Goans to Belgaum. They feel much cooler here than in Goa even when the temperatures have risen to 38 degrees Celsius in Belgaum. Goans normally combine their visit to town with shopping, health check up or just entertainment. KLE hospital (Dr.Prabhakar Kore Hospital) has been a great success story for Goans here. The Kadamba bus also had a drop point in the KLE.

All eating places are bursting and do brisk business on weekends. Many of the Catholics from Belgaum who have now settled in Goa and the still have their roots in here, make them come here often. Others just come here to do their shopping. The main factor is that the taste and variety suits the tastes of Goans which has also helped the local businessmen to grow. On a weekend Shahpur is filled with people from Goa shopping there mainly for Sarees. There are a few who go Big Bazaar as it is on the way from Goa. Shopping for fresh vegetables from Belgaum is a favorite for Goans. In fact majority vegetables sold in Goa are from Belgaum.

The routine of Goans is to some extent fixed. They come here more often than not on Friday afternoon; they do window shopping that evening after they have checked in to their favorite hotels like Anupam, Adarsh, Sanman now even Effa & Shankam, but Anupam is Goan favorite. Saturday morning is serious shopping from 9 am till night. For lunch or dinner the old favourite is Adinarayan and now only fish, but now Goans also throng the restaurants with regular Indian, Chinese cuisine, Gujrati thalis etc. Even Big Cinemas on weekend has majority Goan crowd. The Auto’s also do good business as normally the Goans Park the vehicles at the hotel and go around in Autos and the special Belgaum autos charge exorbitantly for which they are famous. Going back from town without Kunda is not a great sign; hence the sweet shops also keep themselves ready for the weekend.
The most important factor for Belgaum being the preferred destination is that the town has something for all classes of Goans. You may come in a Honda city or Kadamba bus Belgaum has something for all.
More Goans will perhaps come to Belgaum if the road infrastructure is enhanced. The road via Anmod has been repaired recently and via Chorla is yet be made. If we have roads like the Belgaum-Kolhapur 4 lane roads, the 154km odd distance would be very easily travelled in 3 hours and we could even get more traffic from Goa and vice versa.
So, on a weekend its busy times for Belgaumites serving the Goans and also making brisk money.