Date:29/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/29/stories/2004122906451200.htm

National

Tour operators turn to Goa

By Our Staff Reporter

PANAJI, DEC. 28. Goa, which is already a sought-after tourism destination, has come under renewed demand, particularly from foreign tourist agencies after a tsunami wreaked havoc on the tourism industry in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

While hundreds of foreign tourists were killed in the tsunami, thousands were struggling to reach their home countries by chartered flights. Now, travel companies are looking to Goa as a travel destination.

The Director of Tourism, Elvis Gomes said the tourism industry had received a number of inquiries from foreign tour operators about the availability of accommodation in Goa.

Charles Bonifacio, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, said chartered flights from Europe would normally make a round trip - Thailand, Malaysia and Goa. Now they were enquiring whether they could come directly to Goa. But there was no accommodation available immediately.

The number of chartered flights had increased from 24 a week during the last season to 32 this season, with an increase of 8,000 tourists per week.

The Goa Tourism Minister, Matanhy Saldanha, deplored an advisory issued by the World Tourism Organisation, warning foreign tourists not to visit India as it was not a safe destination after the tsunami.