Nearly a third of the international arrivals holidaying in Goa last year were Russians, making them the largest group of foreign tourists wintering at this destination.
Over 1.3 lakh Russian tourists — 30 per cent of foreign arrivals — travelled here last year on the direct charters, displacing recession-hit Britons who till recently occupied the number one position among international tourist arrivals to Goa.
Goa’s economic survey presented in the state Assembly on Tuesday showed holidayers from the UK were down to 26.39 per cent of the 4.46 lakh foreign arrivals. Germany and Finland represent a distant 7 and 6 per cent of the market. Portugal for all its past connections with Goa is hardly in the picture, contributing to 0.25 per cent of arrivals.
More than 900 charters flew into Goa last year brining in 1.71 lakh passengers. But it is in the domestic sector that growth has touched new highs with over 2.2 million arrivals last year.
In a few months tourist arrivals to Goa may well be double the state’s population of 1.45 million.