Amid Omicron scare ahead of Christmas-New Year season, Goa's tourism sector adopts 'wait and watch' policy

Amid an Omicron scare ahead of the Christmas-New Year season, Goa's tourism industry has adopted a "wait and watch" policy.

Ahead of the world-renowned Christmas-New Year celebrations in Goa, the tourism sector in the state is keenly watching the likely impact of a new coronavirus variant that was detected in Southern Africa recently and one which the World Health Organisation has christened 'Omicron' and labelled a 'Variant of Concern', stakeholders said on Sunday.

They said chartered flights and international services bringing in foreign tourists start arriving by the middle of December, heralding what the sector is expecting to be another fruitful season post a robust one during Diwali as the coastal state became the preferred destination for domestic travellers after the Covid-19 pandemic ebbed.