The Hindu Business Line : Goa keen on luring Gulf tourists

GOA is keen on increasing the number of direct flights and charter operations from the Gulf and West Asian region to boost tourist traffic in the wake of a massive new promotional campaign `Go Goa - 365 days' which is expected to attract large numbers of tourists to the picturesque beach resort.

Mr N. Suryanarayan, Director, Tourism, Government of Goa, who was in Dubai to participate at the Arabian Travel Market, ATM 2003, told Business Line that the new promotional campaign aims at attracting visitors to Goa throughout the year, and not only in the months of October to December.

"In particular, we are keen to tap tourists from the Gulf in the summer months of June to August, which is the peak season in this part of the world. It rains in Goa during this period and this is a unique attraction for people from the Gulf, which we plan to tap in a bigger way," he said.

Concerted moves are being made by the Goan authorities to negotiate more direct flights from Gulf points to Goa, he said. At present, Indian Airlines operates two weekly flights from Sharjah to Goa, but efforts are under way to see if direct flights can be operated from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he said. Other carriers like Emirates could also fly directly if the civil aviation authorities give clearances, he added.

Direct charter operations are also being looked at from the Gulf similar to those that operate from Europe and Russia, in a bid to facilitate more tourist traffic from this region.

"Goa has 15 five-star deluxe hotels with villa-type accommodation which is suitable for Arabs. We also have offshore casino and karting tracks and licensed Ayruvedic treatment centres," he pointed out. Packages to Goa are being offered at one-third the rack rate during the June-August period.

The sizable Indian expatriate population hailing from nearby towns like Karwar, Ratnagiri, Belgaum and Hubli are also being targeted and IA has already launched very attractive packages that enable stopover visits to Goa, he said.

Goa received 16-lakh tourists in 2002, 20 per cent higher than the previous year's figure. Of these, 13-lakh were domestic tourists and three lakh foreign visitors, with average spending in both categories rising substantially, Mr Suryanarayan said.

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