They had seen no cause for concern. The State’s charter tourism segment has been banking heavily on Russian and Ukranian tourists and the tension could have a ripple effect on Goa, in the tourism industry. A week later, Russia had invaded Ukraine and the outlook was beginning to appear far different, as this was no ordinary war or minor aggression. It could develop into a major conflagration and destabilise the post-pandemic economic recovery of countries upsetting several revival plans. India will not escape this, and so will Goa not be untouched by the war.
It was the Director of the Tourism Department who voiced concern, saying that the disturbances between Russia and Ukraine, even prior to the war, had already led to cancellation of charter flights, and that since the Russians comprise a major chunk of the foreign tourist arrivals in Goa, if flights were to be cancelled, tourism would be hit. This is a clear indication that the industry and the administration are aware that there will be some fallout.
The possibility of a negative effect is very real, and it will not be the first time that Goa’s tourism industry will suffer due to Russian-Ukranian conflicts. In January 2015, Goa had experienced a drop in foreign tourists. Here is what then Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar had said when speaking to Herald: “Yes, there is drop in the foreign tourists this year. Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the European Union has imposed sanctions on Russians due to which the economy of Russia has crippled. The Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued directions prohibiting their citizens from going abroad as the economy is under distress. It is for this reason there has been a considerable drop in Russian tourists visiting Goa.” There had been a drop of 35 per cent in Russian tourist arrivals that season.
It is early in the conflict to determine just how harshly the war in Eastern Europe will affect tourism in Goa, but when the forecast is enveloped within war clouds it can never be anything other than grey and grim. Based on the drop in tourism arrivals from Russia when the country had invaded Crimea, there will certainly be a negative effect on charter tourism now too. Goa has not received any charters from Ukraine this season, though it had been getting flights from the country in past seasons. The industry is hopeful that the charters from Russia which are booked till the end of March will see no alteration, though the frequency of charters from Kazakhstan has dropped.
The war in Eastern Europe comes at the very time that Goa’s tourism industry had been just about beginning to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and charter flights from Russia had resumed in December 2021, having been stopped in March 2020, when the first pandemic lockdown was imposed. Though Russian charters have been booked for landings, the possibility of flight cancelations is now very real. Against the backdrop of the two-year slowdown due to the pandemic, this is exactly the opposite of what the tourism industry in Goa would have been hoping for.
To offset such setback, Goa’s tourism industry very quickly requires to tap new markets across the world. The war in Eastern Europe may end, but travel from these countries may not resume soon. Goa has been dependent quite a bit on Russia and Ukraine for its charter tourists. The State’s tourism market has to diversify to soften the blows of wars.
