Reginaldo requests CM Sawant to insist upon Centre to permit air-bubbles for charter flights from Russia and UK

MARGAO: Curtorim MLA Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco has appealed to Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant to insist upon and convince the Centre to permit air bubble arrangements for direct charter flights between nations like the UK, Russia, Germany, etc., from where Goa gets the maximum foreign tourists each season.

“Fully vaccinated foreign tourists particularly from the UK, who have been visiting Goa for decades must be permitted to travel to their ‘second home'”, Lourenco told Indyatv.in.

As a matter of fact, Goa is also known for ‘medical tourism’ wherein a lot of pensioners from the UK travel to Goa for various medical and minor surgeries including tooth implants, root canal surgeries etc., which are very expensive in their home countries. “Goa can offer vaccination options and become a vaccination destination for tourists – at a reasonable price, to foreigners who have been coming to the coastal state for decades,” said social worker Tulip Martins from Margao, adding that the state can offer a holiday, coupled with paid Covid vaccination options to senior citizen tourists from various countries,” thus also earning revenue for the state and local businesses.

ALSO READ: Goans must prepare for one more season without loads of charters and foreign tourists

Our Goan brothers in the tourism business are facing great hardship with the interruption of tourism and the suspension of foreign tourists coming to Goa due to the non-availability of moderately priced flights or flight tickets and of course charter flights, which would bring in nearly 8 to 10 lakhs tourists each season. During the best tourism years, there were nearly 1200 charter flights which came to Goa bringing in about 10 lakh foreign tourists in all during the season.

Fully vaccinated foreign tourists who were anyway coming to Goa for years on end, during the winter months must be welcomed to the State, Reginaldo said.

As reported earlier, with New Delhi yet to positively respond to air bubble-like arrangements and permissions for point to point direct charter flights with nations like Russia, UK, Germany, etc., from where the bulk of foreign tourists visit Goa for long vacations, Goan businesses are looking at another dismal tourism year without big-budget or premium foreign tourists.

ALSO READ: More than 30 percent Covid test reports presented at checkpoints by tourists to Goa are fake?

Countries like Egypt, which are a big draw among budget as well as premium Russian tourists are already open for business and are bending backwards, offering package deals and special discounts for groups of young Russian tourists, who have started booking long holidays in big groups to avail of group discounts.

Package deals for foreign tourists heading to Egypt this year are almost 30 to 50 percent cheaper than in 2019. Countries like Egypt are trying to get every tourist they can book.

Comparatively, the Goa government is hardly bothered when it comes to the livelihood of its people. Even the trade bodies in Goa are sitting pretty and not doing their best.