Goa tourism industry requested Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for international tourists ‘immediately’ on Monday, so that work can proceed as soon as the Centre reverses the tourist visa block.
The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), a group of industry representatives, has written to Union Minister of Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy, requesting that charter flights, which bring the majority of foreign tourists to Goa, resume on October 1, even if it is through reciprocal bubble agreements with other countries.
‘This will give the operators a planning time, as the flights have to be announced and sold, the rooms have to be procured, aircraft have to be arranged, flying and landing permissions have to be obtained. That there should be vaccination certificate verification and Covid testing for international tourists as followed by all international destinations in the world and they should be allowed to follow similar SOPs as of domestic travellers,’ the TTAG said in their representation.
According to industry representatives, charter flights carrying visitors from Europe and Russia fly in and out of Goa airport, accounting for 92 percent of the country’s charter industry and bringing a significant number of tourists to the state.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi intimated that the Centre was interested in lifting the ban on international tourist arrivals that was imposed in March 2020, a few months after Covid-19 was declared a worldwide pandemic, during his meeting with state political leaders and health workers in Goa on Saturday.
‘The Centre is taking steps to welcome foreign tourists back. The government has taken a decision to give 500,000 tourists free visas. Travel and tourism stakeholders will be given loans of up to Rs 10 lakh with a 100% guarantee by the government. Tourist guides are being given the facility of taking a loan of up to Rs 1 lakh,’ he said.
Foreign tourists go in larger groups and remain for longer periods of time, with an average stay of 14 to 21 days. To make up for the loss of a single overseas booking, a hotel will need to get four to five local tourist bookings to maintain the same level of occupancy. The average stay of a domestic tourist is 3-7 days.
Meanwhile, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry applauded Prime Minister Modi’s announcement that the Central Government will soon allow international tourists to visit Goa.
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