Russians top charter tourist numbers in Goa

Russians have topped the number of charter tourists to arrive in Goa this tourism season, according to an IANS report. The Goa Tourism Department recently revealed that 889 charter flights landed in Goa during the season from October 2010 to March 2011. 

Statistics have shown that 1.71 lakh foreign tourists arrived in Goa by charter flights during the season, Russians topped the charter tourism arrival charts at 87,921 passengers, while tourists from the UK ranked second at 57,848. 

Besides these two countries, which account for the bulk of the charter tourists in Goa, charters from Switzerland, Poland, Finland, Germany, Norway, France, the Netherlands and Iran also landed in the state to join Goa's tourism party. 

The month of January 2011 accounted for the highest number of tourists coming to Goa, followed by December. 19,751 Russian charter tourists hit Goa's beaches in January along with 12,961 UK tourists in the same month, which is a peak tourist time in the state.

In all, 38,551 foreign charter tourists landed in Goa in January, while the month of December accounted for 32,742 tourists. 

Official statistics also revealed that a whopping 431 Russian charter flights landed in the state during the period, most of them emanating from St. Petersburg and Moscow, while 261 charter flights from the UK made it to Goa from October last year to March this year.