TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: New initiatives are in the offing to fly in charters from Portugal to Goa, days after Portuguese Ambassador to India Dr Jorge Roza de Oliveira visited the State to catalyse trade and tourism ties between the two countries. The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry initiative hopes to club Spanish and France charters with Portugal.
The tourism wing of the Goa Chamber for Commerce and Industry has written to Indian ambassador to Portugal to chalk out an action plan on how to make this proposal workable.
While Oliveira showed keen interest in attracting Indian tourists to Portugal, the industry in Goa is optimistic that this reverse system may work out well for both countries and Goa in particular which has not received charter tourists from Portugal over the last ten years.
“An earlier attempt around three to four years ago failed,” recalled Savio Messiah, Vice President of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa.
However, GGCI Chairman Manguirish Pai Raikar said, “We need to look at the mid-segment for charters from Portugal.”
Raikar said that three segments could be clubbed namely Portugal, Spain and France as none of these three countries have started charter innings to Goa.
“This is a lucrative segment and we could estimate roughly 10,000 tourists,” Raikar said adding that there is a mid-segment that can afford Goa.
Just as there is interest in Goa about Portugal, there is a lot of interest in Portugal about Goa, its culture and heritage.
“There are flights from Portugal up to Dubai and these can be extended to Goa,” Raikar suggested.
The Chamber’s tourism wing is also working out plans to reach out to travel and tour operators in Portugal to ensure that Portuguese tourists visit Goa on a FAM trip and are optimistic that this exercise may help tap Portugal tourists possibly in the next season.
Goa has been trying to promote tourism extensively across the globe and tapping potential segments during the last one year.
From the new markets in the Baltic States, Austria and re-capturing segments such as Berlin, UK and the Gulf, data shows that Goa received 4,56,158 foreign tourists between March 2012 to February 2013.
Data furnished in the Goa Assembly states that during the period from March 2011 to March 2012, the State received around 5 lakh foreign visitors.
