“We expect foreign tourists routing to Goa after the political upheaval there. The Russians had topped the chart in the two previous seasons but the arrival figures reduced in the recent past. We hope the influx rises again this season,” a senior tourism official said.
The State, officials say, is also giving importance to other countries in a bid to boost foreign arrivals besides the Russians and British, who constitute the largest group.
As per statistics, around 7 million Russians traveled to European countries and Egypt until the recent crisis. With Goa at an advantage to attract them, it unfortunately does not figure in the list of recommended destinations.
“The badly designed airport, unending garbage menace and poor roads are distancing high quality tourists from visiting Goa. This year, we are getting foreign vacationers only because of the crisis in Turkey and Egypt,” tourism stakeholder and an entertainment business partner Lyndon Alves commented.
“Goa needs urgent rebranding and rethinking. Historically travelers coming to Goa came for our culture and essence of this land. Not anymore,” artist and restorer Victor Hugo Gomes said.
