Panaji, Aug 31 (IANS) The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine may not have much effect on tourists coming from those countries, union Tourism Minister Shripad Yesso Naik said here Sunday.
Naik was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of new Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
Asked if the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia would stem the flow of tourists from the region, Naik said: “I don’t think it will affect much.”
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has triggered a crisis in Europe for several months now. Russia is now being accused of invading eastern Ukraine.
Nearly two lakh Russian and 30,000 Ukrainian tourists arrive in India every year. Overall, India attracts around seven million foreign tourists every year.
Russians and Ukrainians account for nearly a fourth of the foreign tourist arrivals in the coastal state of Goa, which attracts three million tourists annually, half a million of which are foreigners.
