PANJIM: Amidst speculations of steep drop in Russian arrivals in the ensuing tourist season, the first charter flight from Ukraine will land at Dabolim airport on October 4, marking the beginning of the season.
Speaking to a section of reporters on the sidelines of the opening of e-registration facilitation centre, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said the charter will carry 265 passengers to Goa that will be followed by charters coming from Germany, Europe and other nations.
The tourism department has set a target of 1,200 charter flights from various destinations, which if it achieves will break the record of 2013-14 tourist season when around 1,128 charters arrived in the State. The State, that suffered poor tourist season last year owing to various reasons including devaluing of the Russian rouble, saw a marginal dip in the number of charters flying to Goa.
The minister nonetheless expects good turn out of about 80 lakh international and domestic tourists arriving here. The 2014-15 season had nearly 55 lakh arrivals.
The tourism players are however wary that Goa could face a similar situation this season too as Russian visitors – that constituted over 33 percent of international tourists till two years ago, are likely to drop. The department had conceded that Russians dropped by 35 percent last year. About 1.62 lakh Russian tourists had arrived in Goa in 2013 compared to approximately 1.45 lakh Britishers.
Parulekar expects that launch of new adventures such as Hot Air Balloons, Sea Planes, Amphibious vehicles; and upgradation of hinterland infrastructure, promotional activities in different countries among other initiatives could draw tourists from new countries. “Our to-be master plan will be ready by March that will comprise of everything required to further boost the tourism industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, the season’s first luxury cruise docked in the State on Saturday carrying 776 passengers besides 326 crew members.
The minister, replying to another query on the electronic dance music festivals scheduled in December, denied receiving any applications seeking permission to hold the festivals. His statement comes when the organizers have announced the festival dates on their respective websites and nearly sold all the tickets online.
