PANAJI
Goa is expecting the arrival of over one lakh Charter passengers in the upcoming tourist season, as the State is witnessing economic revival through a significant rise in footfalls -- both domestic and foreign -- for almost one and half years.
The season’s maiden Charter flight is expected to land from Russia or the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the first week of October. Industry stakeholders hope that the count of Charters will experience a twofold increase from both Russia and the UK, which are the largest source countries for tourist influx into Goa, annually.
President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Nilesh Shah stated that while 75,000 Charter tourists visited Goa last season, the projection for this year is to surpass the one lakh mark. “There has been a gradual revival of tourism since COVID cases began to decline, and we are optimistic for a fruitful season this year as well,” Shah said while speaking to The Goan.
The UK Charter operators, he added, have already announced increasing weekly flights from two to four. “This will increase the count of UK arrivals in the State,” he said. The Russian Charters are also likely to increase their flights or frequency per week.
With the Charter segment holding promising potential, the State is also preparing to accommodate international travellers through scheduled flights.
Amidst all this, a competition has already unfolded between Dabolim Airport and Manohar International Airport (MIA) at Mopa, fuelled by the fact that a substantial number of Charter flights have already redirected their routes to the civilian airport.
Not Charters only but the scheduled flights are also looking at MIA over Dabolim. With MIA now accepting e-visas, the footfall at the new airport is expected to further rise.
