VIBHA VERMA
PANJIM: The focus on the 25 per cent dip in the arrivals of Russians this tourist season has overshadowed the steep decline in the flow of visitors from United States of America, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.
The department boasts of an overall growth in international tourist arrivals by over 21,000 in the last calendar year, however, arrivals from the three nations reduced by nearly 11,000.
Records available with Herald indicated that 9,502 US nationals landed in Goa in 2013 but this saw a significant decline to 999 the following year. Tourists from the other two countries reduced to a single digit: 03 and 02 from Lithuania and Czech last year, which was 1,506 and 942 respectively in 2013.
While the fall in Russian arrivals has already caused a 35 per cent drop in the profits in the tourism industry, decline in US and Lithuanian nationals spelt further economic doom with no earnings from US Dollar and Euro countries.
Interestingly, this is despite the Tourism department and stakeholders’ participation in the international travel marts and road shows. A road show in US in November 2014, participation in the shows at Netherlands and Spain yielded less than ten tourists. Tourists from Netherlands and Spain, where the department officials hosted a mega event marketing, have been put in the category of ‘others nationals’ whose total comes to 13,342.
The Tourism department has declined to link the lukewarm response with the foreign trips in the last financial year. “It does not yield results immediately. Nevertheless, the prime cause of concern is issuance of visas, costs involved and the air connectivity,” Tourism Director Ameya Abhyankar told Herald.
“If the visa cost is expensive and it consumes time, tourists will give it a second thought. But if the air connectivity increases, coupled with other related requirements in place, all the problems can be solved,” he added.
The only silver lining has been the approximately 90 per cent increase in the inflow of vacationers from France, while there has been a marginal growth of visitors from Britain, Finland, Switzerland, Portugal, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Holland, Italy, South Africa, Belgium, Norway and Australia. The comparative data for 2013 and 2014 reveals that last year 3,098 more Iranian tourists, 2,868 more Japanese and another 1,879 more UAE nationals visited Goa.
The coastal State that rued a poor tourist season witnessed a marginal drop in the inflow of Greek, Austrian and Irish nationals. Even as the department has not halted promotional plans abroad, it is now keen to target countries having Visa on Arrival and e-tourist visa facilities.
“We are looking at other countries but our main focus will be countries with the two facilities,” the director said.
BOX
Countries Tourists arrived in 2012 Tourists arrived in 2013 Tourists arrived in 2014
UK 1,19,891 1,45,431 1,46,380
Russia 1,40,100 1,62,746 1,49,684
France 19,907 20,618 35,079
Iran 882 892 3990
Japan 826 1001 3869
Switzerland 12,951 13,599 13,641
UAE 1262 1999 3878
USA 8970 9502 999
Lithuania 1252 1506 03
Czech 852 942 02
Overall total (including countries not mentioned in this table) 4,50,530 4,92,322 5,13,592
