Need to study why high spending Russians are going to Dubai and have stopped visiting Goa: Tourism minister

Panaji: High spending Russians are visiting Dubai instead of Goa and there was a need to study why this has happened, state tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said in the Assembly on Friday.

Goa still depends on its traditional markets of Russia and the UK to drive its international arrivals, and there must also be a look at emerging markets like USA, UAE, Germany, South Korea, Japan which are showing increase in outbound tourists, he added.

"High spending 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 kind of projects, he said, adding that the coastal state has the opportunity to increase footfalls with the commissioning of Manohar International Airport at Mopa, which is its second airport.

Khaunte said he and 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 demanding that the new airport be made the point of call for international flights.

"We have started talking Goa beyond beaches. We have to take every opportunity so ensure the economy grows and employment is created," he said.

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.

He 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.

Responding to a question by Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar, the minister said Goa is participating in domestic travel shows to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative of 'Dekho Apna Desh'.