Goa to handle 27% more chartered flights on rising Russian demand

Travel demand is picking up in Goa and it has benefited particularly because of a Russian travel ban to Egypt

Goa will receive about 1,000 charter flights this winter, an increase of 27 per cent over last season, because of an uptick in demand in Russia, which is the main foreign source market for Goa.

The state received 783 international flights between October 2015 and April 2016 — the lowest in five years. This was 11 per cent lower than the 862 flights it received in the  2014-15 season.

But, travel demand is picking up and the state has benefited particularly because of a ban in Russian on travel to Egypt.

“We are expecting about 1,000 chartered flights this winter. The first flight carrying about 500 Russian tourists arrived on Sunday. We will be receiving flights from Russia, Britain, Finland and Dubai,” said Goa Airport Director B C H Negi.

“Last year we witnessed a slowdown in arrivals from Russia. The closure of Transaero airline also led to cancellations. Despite an increase in tour costs, we are expecting 10-15 per cent increase in the number of Russian tourists,” said Aloo Gomes Pereira, chief operating officer (charters), Trail Blazer Tours India.

“The sentiment is positive compared to last year. However we could see decline in traffic if Egypt opens up again to Russians,” said Bharat Atree, managing director of Caper Travels.

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