Scheduled flights give boost to Goa tourism

Panaji: Down with the number of tourists, Goa sees green pasture in the form of scheduled flights linking the world to this tourist heaven in western India.
Goa tourism ministry has said that the increase in the scheduled flights has given flexibility to visitors to decide on their arrival and departure dates.
"The visitors used to face difficulty during emergencies as they had to wait for their programmed departure through chartered flight. With the commissioning of scheduled flights, they can leave whenever they want," state tourism minister, Fransisco Pacheco told reporters here.
The minister was addressing media during the launching of scheduled weekly flight operated by Swiss International Airlines connecting Goa to Switzerland.
"This is the sixth scheduled flight to be operated from Goa," he said. Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), an umbrella organisation representing the industry players, said that the number of tourists arriving from scheduled flight and chartered flight is almost 50:50.
"During 1980s, 80 per cent of the foreign guests used to arrive by chartered flights but now the proportion is fifty-fifty. This is a new sector that is being opened up for tourists and domestic travelers going out of the country," TTAG chairman Ralf D’Souza said.
02/02/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Feb 2010