Give Trance a Chance: Goa Remains Safe for Russian Vacationers

The Indian state of Goa is safe for Russian tourists and hopes to attract some of the country's vacation-goers now that Egypt and Turkey are no longer options, according to the head of the Russian Information Centre in Goa.

The Indian state of Goa, a former Portuguese colony which has re-invented itself as a world-renown vacation destination, remains on the Russian list of safe travel destinations and will attract part of the tourist traffic from Egypt and Turkey, Yekaterina Belyakova, the head of the state's privately-run Russian Information Centre was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

"The security situation in Goa remains safe. The state is bound to increase its number of Russian tourists. Now Goa has a huge opportunity to attract part of the tourist flow from Turkey and Egypt," she said.

Belyakova added that in recent years, prices in Goa were partly on the rise, not least due to the fact that the number of Russian tourists visiting the state doubled between 2012 and 2013.

At the same time, she said that the situation has already changed and a number of local businesspeople had started offering discounts.

Her remarks came a day after media reports cited allegations that Goa has been excluded from the list of places Russia considers safe.

The measure followed the blacklisting of Egypt and Turkey, the most popular travel destinations for Russian tourists.

Russian President Vladimir Putin banned all flights to Egypt after a terrorist attack brought down a tourist-loaded Russian A321 passenger airliner in Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board. The attack was the worst disaster in the history of Russian and Soviet aviation and one of the 30 worst passenger air disasters of all time.

On Saturday, Russia banned tourist operators from operating in Turkey in response to the downing of a Russian bomber Su-24 by a Turkish warplane in Syria.