The new visa free group travel agreement being worked out between India and Russia should boost the tourist numbers to Moscow from India by at least 30%, said Evgeny Kozlov, first deputy head of the office of the mayor and the government of Moscow, in an interview to ET.
Kozlov, who is also the chairman of Moscow City Tourism Committee, said Russian federal officials are also working on a project to enable virtual cards for Indian travellers while they are in India before coming to Russia.
Kozlov said the virtual cards for Indian travellers should be enabled at the end of this year.
"The issue of non-cash payments for travellers in Russia is a key point for our federal government. My federal partners are working on a project to enable virtual cards for Indian travellers while they are in India before coming to Russia," he said.
"So, it might be possible then to get virtual cards given by an Indian bank before travellers leave for Russia. And then, after coming to Russia, they get their physical card when they come to the hotel from a Russian banking partner," he added.
More than 60,000 travellers visited Moscow from India last year, which is a quarter more than a year earlier. Kozlov said in total, 2.3 million tourists visited the city, making it one of the 'top leaders' in terms of tourist flow in 2023.
"Indians are among the top foreign tourists we would like to attract to Moscow.
To support the growth, we are developing the city in several areas, particularly by promoting event tourism.
The capital receives many visitors during its seasonal festivals, and thus the Moscow Tourism Development Program until 2030 provides for further development of cultural and entertainment tourism.
Experts estimate that approximately, 7.3 million guests will be attracted to Moscow by event tourism, and we expect many of them to be from India," he added.
The top tourist markets for Moscow currently are India, China, Turkey, and UAE. Indians are among the top five travellers using the e-visa to come to Moscow.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visit/moscow-bets-on-visa-free-deal-to-attract-more-indians/articleshow/110373306.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
