Goa: Tourism Association and GCCI urges CM Pramod Sawant to restart International flights

The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) and the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) appealed to the Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday to allow the restart of international charter flights to Goa. The appeal was made hoping that the tourism industry could be revived as it has been heavily affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. The two organisations made a joint appeal to CM Sawant.

Tourism has been one of the most hard-hit sectors during the pandemic. The organisations mentioned in the appeal that the tourism sector actively employs over 40 million skilled and trained manpower that generates more than the US $29 billion foreign exchange annually. As there has been a complete closure of international flights and visas since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, multiple tourist operators have closed offices as they are facing severe financial constraints, GCCI and TTAG said.

As Goa is one of the most popular states for tourism, the joint proposal was that the charter flights must be allowed to land in Goa from safe countries that have granted Indians permission to enter their countries on a tourist visa. International flights are already underway between Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan and hence, India must allow its citizens to travel. It is also noted that the tourists arriving in Goa do not generally travel to other states and spend the majority of their time in one single part of the state. Therefore, it will make it easier for the officials to track them and stop the spread of the virus if the situation occurs. GCCI and TTAG urged Sawant to make an imminent announcement of reopening of the International tourist charters from October onwards as that will give the foreign operators enough time to prepare and this way, the coming season could allow local operators to enjoy some profits.

What are the precautions that be will taken for the safety of locals?

In the case of the surge in virus and the possibility of a third wave, then the cancellation of the charter flights can be made by September or October. Special visas could be given to the tourists from their local embassies or a landing permit for those who would be given the visa on arrival. Multiple safety guidelines like international arriving tourists should be either fully vaccinated or must carry a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test report conducted 72 hours before the travel will be issued. A designated area for arrivals and departure at the airport for these international passengers can also be worked out so that a bubble is created and they do not cross each other. This will effectively reduce the spread the of the virus. 

With ANI inputs