High air fare hits tourist flow to Goa

The high air fares hit tourism in Goa during Christmas and New Year, trade sources said on Monday.

Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) President Gaurish Dhond told reporters that the tourists' inflow could have been much better if airlines had not raised their ticket fares during the peak season.

He said that except for two days of Christmas and New Year, the tourist flow was actually down.

"Extremely high bus fares and air fares made it difficult for the travellers to come," he said. But he did not quantify the fall in number of tourists to the state because of high air fares.

TTAG chief said that air fare for Goa touched all time high Rs30,000 per ticket single way from Delhi as against the normal air ticket of Rs6,000.

"When Malaysia and Sri Lanka offer three-night package for as low as Rs15,000 including flight ticket, who would spend so much just to visit Goa," he asked.

TTAG has demanded that state and central governments should intervene and do something to arrest the sky-rocketing air fares.

As per estimates, Goa received around 75,000 visitors on December 31 for new year celebrations.