Goa government today said that tourist arrivals by chartered flights has dropped sharply by 35 per cent in the current season owing to inadequate facilities at the airport.
"There is a drop in chartered tourist arrival by almost 35 per cent compared to last year. A less number of chartered flights have arrived in the current tourist season," Chairman, Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Nilesh Cabral said.
A delegation of Goa tourism ministry, comprising State Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, Cabral, tourism director Amey Abhyankar and others met Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma and Civil Aviation Minister P Raju to discuss issues faced by the industry.
Problems encountered by airline operators at the existing lone airport in the state were also put forth.
He said 1,128 chartered flights had arrived in Goa during last tourist season which was only 850 this season till now.
"There is no facility at the airport for overnight parking. Also, there are restrictions in terms of landing of air planes because the airport is naval facility," he said.
He said Goa is the only state where tourism comes by chartering flights.
The Corporation is also pitching in for lucrative measures to boost the number of tourists.
"We will be offering incentives for the chartered flights who bring in more tourists. There is visa-on-arrival (VOA) facility extended to various countries. We will be asking for central assistance for marketing in those countries where VOA facility is offered," he said.
The tourism department has also appealed to Civil Aviation ministry to allot slots which are available for scheduled international airlines.
"The international airlines can fly to Goa. Operators like Candor, Thomas Cook and Tui are interested in bringing in scheduled airlines. Even e-visa facility should be implemented for travelling to India as well," he said.
