Falling UK arrivals in Goa due to recession

Amidst earlier projections that tourist arrivals in Goa will fall for the season 2009-10, the first charter flight from the UK arrived early Monday at the Dabolim International Airport. The first flight, with 293 passengers aboard, landed at 4:00. It was then followed by another arrival at 22:00 of a Manchester flight carrying 304 passengers.

The representative of Thomas Cook Airlines, Martin Joseph, who is also the Managing Director of Freedom Holidays, confirmed that all passengers are British nationals who are on a 14-day holiday trip to Goa. The two-week tour package costs between £400-600 per person, and is inclusive of air tickets, airport transfers and hotel accommodations.

Tourist arrivals from the UK held the top position in Goa’s tourism sector for several years. The recent influx of tourists from Russia this season may result in the UK’s relegation to the second slot.

Joseph explained that the falling UK arrivals in Goa were due to the economic meltdown. The global recession hit the UK’s middle-income group strongly, among this group are those who used to enjoy a trip abroad every winter. This season, the working class prefer to postpone their holiday plans and to save instead for next year.

From 100,000 UK arrivals in 2007-08, British tourists who travelled to Goa in 2008-09 slipped to 77,500. Ralph de Sousa, President of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, projected that the UK tourist arrivals this season will further slide 15 per cent as compared to last year. Goa, alongside Southeast Asia and Spain, continues to rank among the UK tourists’ favourite destinations.