High spending Russians are visiting Dubai instead of Goa and there is a need to study why this trend is picking up. Goa tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said in the Assembly on August 4 that a majority of Goa's tourism sector depends on the Russian and the British market to drive international arrivals. However, there is an emerging trend that countries like US, UAE, Germany, South Korea and Japan have witnessed an increase in outbound tourists from these destinations.
"Wealthy Russian tourists are found in Dubai. They should come to Goa. They have stopped coming to Goa. We need to study what happened. The state wants to know what exactly went wrong due to which they were diverted to a destination like Dubai," Khaunte said.
Goa should emulate destinations like Saudi Arabia, which is developing after introducing new tourism services and different kinds of projects, he said, adding that the coastal state has the opportunity to increase footfalls with the commissioning of Mopa International Airport, which is the second airport in the state.
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According to a report in Skift, In January 2023, Dubai experienced a surge in overnight visitors, reaching a total of 1.47 million arrivals. Notably, Russia emerged as the second-largest inbound market for tourism in the emirate, with 63 percent increase over the previous year. Around 115,000 Russian tourists chose Dubai for a holiday. Indian travellers held the top spot with the highest number of international visitors to Dubai (186,000), while Saudi Arabia followed as the third-largest source market, with 98,000 visitors. The rise in Russian tourists reveals how the city has become a safe haven for Russians seeking to escape the impact of sanctions in their home country. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, air traffic between Moscow and Dubai saw a 228 percent growth compared to pre-pandemic levels.
While the total number of overnight visitors in January was slightly lower than the 1.6 million recorded in 2019, it represents a significant increase of 50 percent compared to January 2022.
Meanwhile, Goa Tourism minister said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will meet Union Civil Aviation Minister (Jyotiraditya Scindia), Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) after the Assembly session ends on August 10 to demand that the new Mopa airport be made the point of call for international flights.
"We have started taking Goa beyond beaches. We must take every opportunity to ensure the economy grows and employment is created in the state," he mentioned.
The state must strive for quality rather than quantity when it came to tourist footfalls, and Kerala is one such success story that Goa should learn from, Khaunte said and added that the state's nautical tourism policy will be in place which will take care of cruise ships, since the aim is to increase their numbers taking advantage of the proximity of port and airport at Vasco.
With inputs from agencies
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
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