the goan I network
PANAJI
After two months of seeing lesser Russian tourists than earlier, tour operators are now relieved because more Russian tourists are visiting Goa in January than in December.
In December, the tour operators weren’t sure if they would be able to bring significant number of Russian tourists to the State. However, they are happy now that more Russian tourists have visited the State in January than expected.
Ernest Dias, chief operating officer, Sita Travels and TCI, said, “There’s an improvement in the number of Russian tourists in January. And, I think the trend looks positive even for February.”
The Russians celebrate January 7 as Orthodox Christmas Day and most of them prefer travelling to Goa after the celebrations. Therefore, more Russians arrive in Goa this month than in Dec every year.
However, this season, a lot of Russians are choosing Turkey, Malaysia and other destinations over Goa, which was making tour operators anxious. But now that they are coming here, the tour operators have heaved a sigh of relief.
Amar Dhumatkar, president, Goa charters at Caper Travel, said, “We’re bringing 1,000 to 1,500 more Russian tourists to Goa in January than in December. So for us, the trend looks fine. However, the concern is that most of them are budget category tourists.”
Other sources also confirmed that the number of high-income Russian tourists has declined this season. Meanwhile, the tour operators are trying to bring tourists from other markets.
“We are bringing a charter flight from Poland once in 10 days. Each flight is bringing around 289 Polish tourists to Goa. They arrive and stay here for a while, then head to North India and then come back to Goa to make a return journey,” Dias said.
