Unrest in Egypt makes foreign tourists turn to Goa

The unrest in countries like Egypt and Tunisia is working in favour of tourism in Asian destinations including Goa, officials said here today adding that the arrival of foreign tourists has gone up by 15%.

Goa's tourism director Swapnil Naik said that the room occupancy in the state has gone up by 15% since the trouble started in Egypt and expect the trend to continue for the rest of the year.

Naik said that a section of the travellers who had plans to visit destinations like Egypt and Tunisia are now heading to Goa and other popular spots in Asia.

Naik said that the state government was in talks with Union home ministry to relax visa norms for the tourists who had to cancel their Egypt trip following massive public protests there against the Mubarak regime.

Ralf de Souza, spokesman for Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), an umbrella organisation of tour operators and hoteliers, said that the tour operators were scouting for newer options when they had to cancel trips to Egypt.

He said that the central government should not be stubborn and relax visa norms so that the tourism industry can reap the benefits.

Goa receives around 24 lakh tourists annually, of which 4 lakh are foreigners.