Goa Airport to have international charter flights from THESE destinations, details here

The Goa Airport has received the request from multiple international destinations, and the move is expected to improve the state's tourism with the tourists coming from international destinations, reports IANS.

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Goa Airport has received a request for slots for the arrival of international charter flights from eight destinations, including Russia, which will be approved by the end of September. Multiple international is seeking approval from the airport, including Kuala Lumpur, Tel Aviv, Gatwick, Bahrain, Russia, Almaty, Manchester, and Muscat. Speaking to IANS, Goa Airport Director S.V.T. Dhanamjaya Rao said that eight countries had requested slots. "Some of them have been granted approval, while some are in process," he said. "They are giving proposals. Things are in process. Certain things are approved, certain things are in process," Rao said.

"Some are approved, those coming now are being entertained, and our officials are approving. All the things will be finalised by September because it (arrival) starts only in the month of October," Rao said.

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had recently said that the coastal state`s tourism is predominantly dependent on the United Kingdom and Russia, and some parts of Europe. "Government is taking all steps to get a good footfall with good spending," he had said.

"Today predominately we are dependent on two markets, UK and Russia, and some parts of Europe. Are we on the right track? Are we looking at the same tourist coming in? For this, we need to see how we go ahead," Khaunte had said.

Khaunte had said that in 2019, about 71,27,000 were domestic tourists who arrived in Goa, while 9,31,000 were foreign tourists. But this number dropped in 2020 and 2021 as the Covid pandemic struck the coastal state. "The number came down to mere 3 lakh domestic tourists and 32,000 foreign tourists," Khaunte had said.

With inputs from IANS