Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Panaji, Mar 23: The number of Russian tourists arriving in Goa have overtaken the figures of British holidayers coming down to this coastal state famous for its beaches.

As per Goa Economic Survey tabled during the ongoing state legislative assembly session, a total of 1,33,683 Russians arrived in the state as against 1,17,683 during the year 2011-12. This has happened for the first time in the history of Goa that Britons have been outnumbered by guests from any other nation.

The figures further shows that the number of Russians have increased while that of Britons decreased compared to the year earlier.  The Russians have nearly doubled in number from  57,623 last year. There was slowdown in the tourism arrival from the UK. It went down from 1.54 lac to 1.17 lac.

As far as other countries are concerned, Germany was the third country with arrivals of 30234 reporting last year. Finnish and French tourists ranked fourth and fifth as far as tourist arrival figures in Goa are concerned. 

Goa annually attracts 24 lac tourists, of which 4 lac are international guests.