Goa's charter traffic remains flat as fewer Russians visit state

Goa received 783 international flights between October 2015 and April 2016, the lowest in five years

The number of foreign tourists visiting Goa on charter flights has remained flat this year, signalling weak demand from its main source market — Russia.

The state received 783 international flights between October 2015 and April 2016 — the lowest in five years. This is 11 per cent lower than 862 flights it received in the last season (between October 2014 and May 2015).

This season, 161,343 tourists visited Goa via charter flights. During the last season, the figure was 159,497, compared with around 260,000 each in the two previous seasons.

“It has been a lean season for tour operators in Goa.  There has been a drop in Russian tourists because of the impact of a weak rouble. The international business is down almost 30 per cent, but domestic arrivals are showing strong growth. We need to develop new markets,” said Aloo Gomes Pereira, chief operating officer (charters), Trail Blazer Tours India.

Russia and Britain are the top source markets for Goa contributing to around 60 per cent of  foreign tourist arrivals. In 2014, Russian tourists accounted for 29 per cent of all foreign tourist arrivals in Goa, down from 33 per cent in two preceding years. In the last season, depreciation in rouble and closure of two tour operators — Labirint and Neva — had impacted the arrivals. The weakness of the Russian economy continued to impact the demand, but tensions in Russia-Egypt relations following an air crash and suspension of Russian flights to Egypt benefited Goa.

“The Egyptian crisis has been a blessing in disguise for Goa. The decline in tourists in Goa would have been sharper, but the crisis in Egypt led to several Russian tourists cancelling trips to Egypt and opting for Goa,” said Bharat Atree, managing director of Caper Travels, which handles Russian charters.

Atree pointed out that a majority of Russians visiting Goa this year were budget travellers and the arrivals did not boost the business of five star hotels in the state.