The tourism industry, still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, is in for another disappointment, as the number of flights from Kazakhstan have reduced from three a week to just one last month, due to internal disturbances in the central Asian country. The season had commenced on an optimistic note, what with charters arriving from Russia and Kazakhstan after the Indian government permitted charters in December.
Due to the turmoil in Kazakhstan, charters were stopped from January 5th onwards and though operations were resumed after 15 days, there is only a single flight coming in, instead of three.
A single charter a week bringing in around 150 travellers will continue till mid-April. The state has also been receiving a single charter once in ten days from Russia, and these operations are likely to continue till mid-May. Goa, during the pre-pandemic period had been receiving the highest number of charters from various Russian locations.
The state received around 2-2.5 lakh charter tourists a season, half of which came from Russia, till the pandemic hit.
With the charter season coming to a close, no charters from new destinations can be expected this season. Nilesh Shah, president, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa said that Goa may get some free independent travelers in the following months, now that the government of India has removed restrictions for international travelers.
International travelers arriving from at-risk countries no longer need to quarantine or get tested on arrival
