Charters to Goa up 30 per cent
It has been sunshine much of the way for Goa’s tourism industry this year with foreign arrivals up by 20 per cent, supported by the turnaround by charter operators.
Goa’s tourism director Swapnil Naik expects charter flights to touch the 880 mark by April end, a substantial 30 per cent rise from the 690 that landed at Dabolim airport last year. International arrivals scaled up to 4.2 lakh against the 3.6 lakh last year.
Not surprisingly, the number of Temporary Landing Permits (TLPs) being dished out to foreign tourists has also gone up. While 3,148 tourists (not flight crew) were granted TLPs in 2010, already 4,358 were issued till last month.
The temporary landing permit, which costs $40, is a facility the Indian government allows to last minute travellers without visas, so long as they are part of a large group sponsored by a recognised Indian travel agency. The travel agency has to make a written request to the SP Immigration three days or more in advance of the group’s arrival.
There has been some concern in Goa over the increasing number of Russians being granted TLPs. Eighty per cent of the TLPs issued in the last four months went to Russians, the rest to British travellers.
SP Immigration Tony Fernandes says his unit does its best to trawl the internet for red corner notices and lookout circulars (LOCs) before it clears the tourist for landing. “We also hold their passport for the 14 days they are allowed here,” he says.
The Goa government has been lobbying hard for the visa on arrival facility at Dabolim and expects the union ministry’s clearance for it soon. Russian tourists to Goa have been growing exponentially. Over 80,000 of them holidayed here last year, displacing Britons who till recently occupied the top slot. Some 400 charters flew in from Russia this season and 216 from the UK as the British market registered a recovery.
What also helped was the opening up of new markets like Iran and Poland. Six charters came in from Iran this year, and Naik expects this traffic to grow.
