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Tourist arrivals, both domestic and foreigners, bounced back from the crash in the Covid-19 era with data showing that Goa has firmly shifted its focus from international charters to a domestic travel destination. Five-year data shared by the Union tourism ministry shows that while the number of international tourists has nose dived, the visits by domestic travellers remains more or less steady.
In 2018, 70.8 lakh domestic tourists visited Goa, which has a local population of 15 lakh, while 9.3 lakh foreigners spent their holiday in Goa. Last calendar year, 70.1 lakh domestic tourists were recorded in Goa as against a mere 1.7 lakh foreigners.
“As far as domestic is concerned, we have been doing quite well and we will be able to touch last year’s numbers. International arrivals are picking up slowly but with the wars, people are hesitant to move out of their country,” said president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa Nilesh Shah. He said that the number of foreign tourists remained subdued in 2022 because of the delay in the e-visa roll out for British nationals and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. This year, the hostilities in Gaza have already led to the cancellation of the flights from Israel, Shah said.
The first-ever charter flight to Goa from Uzbekistan landed at the Manohar International Airport on Thursday amid the tourist season reaching its peak in the coastal state, an official said. The historic flight, Centrum Air Q6 5545, operated by Elaine Avia in Uzbekistan and Goa’s operating agent Concord Exotic Voyages Pvt Ltd, landed at the Mopa airport at 12:30 pm
Britishers, Germans, Scandiavians, Russians, and Israelis have always preferred Goa for its sunny beaches, relatively cheap hotels and good flight connectivity but in the last eight to ten years, Phuket, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Turkey and Vietnam has steadily succeeded in wooing tourists away from Goa.
The difference between 2018 and 2022 in domestic tourist arrivals is just 1% but for international arrivals, there is 82% drop in 2022 from the 2018 figures.
Thailand and Indonesia offer visas on arrival while Vietnam allows Russians and UK citizens to stay for 15 days without any visa requirements.
“Before Covid, Goa would get five charter flights from Russia every day. This year we have six flights coming in from Russia in a week and just four flights from UK in a week so it is very difficult to compensate with the pre-covid numbers,” said Shah.
He said that the launch of flights from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have helped shore up the international arrival figures for 2023.
“If you look at the data, inbound tourists were less across India last year and not just in Goa. I don’t expect us to touch pre-Covid figures this year but if we can touch even 50% then we will be good. This year we expect the inbound numbers to be better than last year,” said Shah.
While the shift towards domestic tourists has delivered success for the travel industry, some of the smaller, family run hotels continue to cater solely to foreign charter operators, putting them at a disadvantage when the market remains slumped.
“The smaller hotels still depend on charters. They still count on the foreign tourists to fill up their rooms. They are slowly adapting but till then they will struggle,” said Shah.
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