First half of 2012 sees rise in Indian tourists to Russia

With relaxed visa norms in place for Indian citizens, there has been a 30 percent year-over-year rise in tourist visas.

With relaxed visa norms in place for Indian citizens, there has been a 30 percent year-over-year rise in tourist visas issued to residents of western India in the first half of 2012, Vladimir Dementiev, Russia’s Deputy Consul General in Mumbai said on Friday. The majority of tourists from western India are visiting Moscow and St Petersburg, but there is a growing demand for travel to the Golden Ring Cities, Lake Baikal, Kamchatka and for travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway, according to Dementiev.

The Russian diplomat expects Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and the Caucasus Region to appeal to Indian visitors in the near future. “Sochi is a favourite relaxation spot for the people of Russia,” Dementiev said. “Just imagine: downwards lies the city of Sochi on the shore of the warm, soft Black Sea with subtropical nature with palm trees and with a 30-minute ride on a ropeway, you find yourself in snow-clad mountains.”

The Russian Embassy in New Delhi and the Russian Consulate in Mumbai have outsourced its visa applications to the Salvia Group of Companies, Dementiev, who heads the Russian Cultural Centre in Mumbai, said.

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