Panaji: In an unfortunate turn of incidents, Russia’s war on Ukraine and the unprecedented difficulties for British tourists in obtaining visas have proved to be a major blow to Goa’s charter tourism season, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.For the unversed, Goa’s charter tourism season brings in approximately thousands of visitors to the Indian state from Europe. According to the report, Goa airport director S V T Dhanamjaya Rao revealed that Russian Azur Airlines has cancelled all its flights.The results of which will imply that the several tourists that were supposed to be on that flight cannot travel to Goa anymore. Rao further said: “They booked around 13 slots for October.” Approximately 9,00,000 foreign tourists–mostly from Europe–would visit Goa annually before the pandemic. The state’s breezy beaches and top-notch tourist facilities make it an ideal destination for foreigners who usually fly abroad to warmer places to avoid long winters in their home countries. Before the pandemic, several of them arrived on charter flights with pre-arranged services such as transportation, accommodation, and meals.TOP SHOWSHA Tourist charter flights from Europe, including Russia, to Goa, account for approximately 92% of the country’s charter industry. They fly in a majority of European and Scandinavian tourists coming to Goa. Previously, the Times reported that thousands of British tourists have cancelled trips to India due to a last-minute rule change one that requires them to be present in person for tourist visas.According to the report, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president Nilesh Shah revealed that approximately 40,000 to 50,000 tourists from the UK visit the state annually and the “number could reduce drastically.” He said: “This is the challenge we need to address. We have made a representation. We had a representation last year as well. There are certain bilateral issues..”
