Panaji, Sep 13 (IANS): Goa Airport has received a request for slots for the arrival of international charter flights from eight destinations including Russia, which will be approved by the end of September, airport officials said.

Speaking to IANS, Goa Airport Director S.V.T. Dhanamjaya Rao said that eight countries have requested slots. "Some of them have been granted approval, while some are in process," he said.

"They are giving proposals. Things are in process. Certain things are approved, certain things are in process," Rao said.

He said that Kuala Lumpur, Tel Aviv, Gatwick, Bahrain, Russia, Almaty, Manchester and Muscat have sought approvals.

"Some are approved, those coming now are being entertained and our officials are approving. All the things will be finalised by September because it (arrival) starts only in the month of October," Rao said.

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had recently said that the coastal state's tourism is predominantly dependent on the United Kingdom and Russia, and some parts of Europe. "Government is taking all steps to get a good footfall with good spending," he had said.

"Today predominately we are dependent on two markets, UK and Russia, and some parts of Europe. Are we on the right track? Are we looking at the same tourist coming in? For this, we need to see how we go ahead," Khaunte had said.

Khaunte had said that in 2019, about 71,27,000 were domestic tourists who arrived in Goa, while 9,31,000 were foreign tourists. But this number dropped in 2020 and 2021 as Covid pandemic had struck the coastal state. "The number came down to mere 3 lakh domestic tourists and 32,000 foreign tourists," Khaunte had said.