Goa becomes top destination for first time Russian tourists

New Delhi: It was the tourism season of 2001 when 939 Russian tourists first walked on the beaches of Goa after arriving on 11 flights during those six months. The British were ruling the numbers game then. Statistics showed that 90,756 Britons had visited Goa that season.

That trickle of Russians has turned into a deluge. Wave upon wave of Russian tourists have descended upon the shores of Goa during the last 13 years. Tourists from other countries have now been reduced to bit players in Goa's tourism economy. The number of British tourists has also increased, but, falls short of the surge from Russia.

For many Russians, Goa has become a destination when choosing to holiday abroad for the first time. The beautiful climate during the year-end enables the Russians to escape the harsh winter back home, and the word-of-mouth publicity has gone viral.

"As for Russian tourists in Goa, everyone, probably, has a story," says Valentina Zvereva, a bar manager, who lives in Novosibirsk, capital of Siberia.

"Personally, in front of me, there was a choice. 'Where to go abroad for the first time?'. My choice fell on India on the advice of my boss. And I'm not sorry about anything. I would return to India again and again. She (India) has her own special atmosphere, there are other people out there and a different culture. Peculiar, but extremely interesting," she said.

Ask Zvereva what she loves about Goa, and she replies, "Everything! Its unique atmosphere, a mysterious language, interesting traditions of the people, excellent weather, the attitude of the locals. Even the air is special!"

Goa has been getting Russian tourists from all walks of life. While some shack owners say Russians are big-spenders, others say they have got tourists from the poorer section of society.

"It started after the recession," former tourism director Swapnil Naik said in retrospect. "There was a drop in sales for our tour packages at the world tourism fairs where Goa put up stalls. The tour operators slashed rates of the packages, but the corresponding demand did not increase from countries such as UK and Germany," Naik explained.

"But, Russian tour operators found it lucrative and bought up the packages. There was a high demand from Russia. Since the rates were slashed, lower income groups were able to afford a holiday and the type of tourist profile thus changed," Naik said.

And the Russians started arriving in hordes. The Goa holiday experience is also being seen as a liberating factor for Russians, still haunted by a past where communism had enclosed them in a shell in their own country.

"Some of them have never stepped out of their country before. They didn't know that a world existed outside Russia. Most of the Russians from the lower classes are recent travellers. Many of them are from far-flung regions in their country. We have even seen cases where people were surprised you didn't speak Russian," a tour operator told TOI.

The large number of Russians in Pernem's coastal villages has given the beach stretch nicknames such as 'Little Russia'.

With the number of its nationals coming to Goa ever increasing, the Russian federation, in May 2013, appointed businessman Victor Albuquerque as its honorary consul general in the state to serve its citizens.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.