Since the invasion of Ukraine, tourism to Russia has plummeted. The economy has been hurt by sanctions. Russia is interested in India's outbound travelers.

There is a person named Peden Doma Bhutia.

As Russia engages in the worst fighting in Europe since World War II with Ukranian, tourism is one of the hardest hit sectors for the country.

India seems to be high on the list of destinations that it is wooing travelers from as a result of the sanctions on Russia.

The Russian contingent descended in full force as it made a strong bid to sell the destination to Indian travelers.

The representatives from the city of Moscow City Tourism Committee and the Saint Petersburg Convention Bureau spoke to the media about their destinations.

Russia, a very important tourist destination, doesn't have a national tourism organization with their office in India.

Since the last few months, the Moscow City Tourism Committee has been aggressively engaging with the travel trade through seminars and workshops.

India is one of 52 countries that Russia plans to launch electronic visas for. The resolution that had been passed in 2020 but had been put on hold due to Covid restrictions was passed in Russia.

During his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a visa-free entry between Russia and India.

As the wait for visas keeps getting longer for Indian passport holders, the easing of visa regulations would be an incentive.

Russia is a popular destination for all types of Indian travelers, including leisure, groups, students as well as meetings, incentives, conferences and events. They are hesitant to travel because of the uncertainty of war.

According to the deputy chairperson of the city's committee for tourism development, Indians are becoming more interested in visiting the destination.

We are trying to increase the number of tourists from India. Julia said that their main focus was on group tourism and the meetings, incentives, conferences and events sector.

Julia said that tourists are safe in the country and that everything is peaceful.

Asia is a huge area of focus for the tourism boards as these markets provide huge potential to improve Russia's tourism numbers.

According to the Federal Agency for Tourism, inbound travel from India to Moscow increased by 40 percent in 2011.

According to the deputy chairperson of the Moscow city tourism committee, Turkey, Germany and India are the top markets for inbound arrivals into Moscow.

This is a good time for Russia and India to strengthen their ties, according to Arutyunova.

It's safe for tourists to visit Moscow. She said that travel to Russia is safe and that the city received 50,000 Indian tourists in 2021.