VASCO
President of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), Savio Messias, on Wednesday, said Goa is all set to usher in the new tourism season from Thursday (October 4) when the first chartered flight from Russia will land at Dabolim international airport at 5 am.
Messias also said that the season does not look promising as the countries like Egypt and Turkey are exploring their tourism potential to the optimum. Messias hinted that there could be a decline in the international tourists arriving at Goa .
“Tourism has been one of the main backbones of the State’s economy which has 105-km-long coastline attracting more than six million tourists annually. Egypt and Turkey are destinations which are much more economical for Russian tourists and at a much shorter distance. The flight tickets too are cheap which works against the state’s tourism sector. We can expect a slight slump in the season because it will be very difficult for Goa to compete with countries having cheaper flights and nearer to Russia. Domestic tourism is, however, booming but we require a mix of both foreign and domestic tourists,” Messias said.
Messias informed that initially there would be one charter flight per week and number would pick up gradually as the season commences. “The first charter arrives on Thursday from Russia and we expect many flights to come in. We hope and pray that everything goes well for the charter season this year. The British start in November. Russia, Ukraine and the Finland will start much later in November-end,” he added.
