What are the prospects of Goa in the winter season 2018/19

The Indian state of Goa, more than half of the foreign tourist flow to which comes from Russia, is still behind other mass winter destinations by popularity. The prices for the direction for the year increased by 22%, however, the leading tourist players still retain their flight programs at the last year's level. In 2017, the tourist flow to Goa was half "Russian" (55% of the total foreign tourist traffic). During the entire winter period 2017-18 639 charters from Russia arrived to Goa - 66% of the total number of charter flights to the state. The direction is traditionally popular among tourists from Russian regions because of the high price affordability of the winter beach holiday. So, according to the leading tour operators, tourists from the regions made 67% of all bookings to Goa. Other tourists players note, that Goa takes 80 - 100% of their volume to India, traditionally is the leading Indian destination in Russia. According to the results of early booking of the "winter beach", Goa is not yet among the five most popular destinations, behind other countries, such as - Thailand, Vietnam, UAE, the Caribbean, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. As many experts say, this is explained by the increased price of tours - the jumps of the dollar exchange rate played an important role, and unprecedented rising costs of aviation fuel this year. So, according to Sletat.ru resource, if in the winter season 2017/18 the tour to Goa cost an average 75,393 Rubles ($ 1070) for two persons, in this winter season the average price of a tour with a flight from Moscow to this Indian state increased by almost 23% - 92,538 Rubles ($ 1348) for two for 10-14 nights. A number of companies have noticed an increase of booking already at this stage, including from Moscow. Direction is still cheaper than competitors: according to Sletat.ru, the average prices of tours from Moscow to Thailand or Vietnam for 2 adults for 10-14 nights on BB base in autumn 2018 will be approximately 100 000 - 110 000 Rubles ($ 1457 – 1603) for two. The direction retains a vivid "regional" accent. According to tour operators, tourists from Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Perm, Kazan and Ufa are the best in booking tours to Goa resorts. According to the data of early booking of this year, the main type of accommodation, which Russian tourists choose in Goa, are budget hotels of category 2-3-stars hotels with breakfasts or "no meals". The most popular tours last 10-14 nights. The main category of tourists is youth and couples without children.