VASCO
Amid speculations of a drop in tourist footfalls during the peak Christmas season, Goa International Airport Director M C Jayarajan has said the Dabolim airport had witnessed a significant rise in domestic passengers but a drop in international passengers as compared to last year.
“The flights to Goa were full, and domestic tourist footfalls have increased. Statistics show we handled 1,20,559 domestic passengers and 683 flights in the last 10 days of December this year. This is a substantial jump compared to the 94,629 passengers and 559 flights during the same period last year,” Jayarajan stated.
While domestic tourism saw a sharp rise, Jayarajan admitted a drop in international footfalls.
“We handled 27 international flights and 4,721 international passengers this year compared to 39 flights and 6,537 passengers last year during the same period,” he added.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had recently dismissed claims of a decline in tourist numbers, attributing such reports to a smear campaign against Goa’s tourism sector.
