Russia’s war on Ukraine and difficulties for British tourists in obtaining visas have marred Goa’s charter tourism season, which brings tens of thousands of visitors to the state from Europe.
Goa airport director S V T Dhanamjaya Rao said Russian Azur Airlines, which was supposed to bring tourists to the state from Tuesday, has cancelled all its flights. “They booked around 13 slots for October.”
The Times last week reported thousands of British holidaymakers have cancelled trips to India because of a last-minute rule change, which requires them to be present in person for tourist visas. It reported no appointments were available for the Britons for the next two months even as London’s Indian high commission maintained said there have been no changes to the visa rules.
Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president Nilesh Shah said around 40,000 to 50,000 tourists from the UK visit the state annually and the number could reduce drastically. “This is the challenge we need to address…” he said.
“We have made a representation. We had a representation last year as well. There are certain bilateral issues…,”
The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has also urged the state government to use its good offices and sort out the problem. “…we have approached the [Union] home ministry. Now we will be meeting the chief minister [Pramod Sawant] to urge him to use his good office. As the chief minister, he can directly speak and that is what we believe he will do. We will also meet the Union minister of state for tourism…,” said GCCI president Ralph de Sousa.
Around 900,000 foreign tourists, mostly from Europe, would visit Goa annually before the pandemic. A bulk of them arrived on charter flights with pre-arranged services such as transportation, accommodation, and meals.
Charter tourism has been particularly popular in Scandinavian countries, where people fly abroad to warmer places to avoid long winters.
Tourist charter flights from Europe, including Russia, to Goa account for 92% of the country’s charter industry. They fly in a majority of foreign tourists coming to Goa.
