Goa is witnessing a considerable increase in tourist inflow this year with 1.68 lakh holiday makers from abroad already having visited the state. With two more months left before the tourist season draws to a close, the inflow figure is expected to touch a record mark, director, tourism department, Sandeep Jacques said.

“We are in the process of compiling data but we expect that this year’s figure should cross last year’s mark of 2.4 million,” he said.

Goa experienced a boom in tourism last year with the St Francis Xavier holy relics exposition and International Film Festival of India (IFFI) being held in here. “More than 50,000 tourists turned up only to witness the exposition,” Jacques said.

Till now 619 chartered flights have brought in 1.68 lakh foreign tourists in 2006 as compared to 690 flights that brought in 1.58 lakh tourists last year. The tourism department also expects major hotels in the state to register 50 per cent occupancy during monsoon season.

“Seasonal occupancy during this time of the year touches 90 per cent mark and during off-season it will exceed by 50 per cent,” said a tourism department official. The flow of tourists is expected to rise next month for the one-day cricket match between India and England on April 3.

(www.business-standard.com)