Russia expects to see a significant increase in Indian tourists by the end of 2024, aiming to reach around 70,000 – double the existing count, Yulia Maksutova, director of the Centre for the Development of International Tourism at the Centre for Strategic Research told Sputnik.
Rosstat reports that in 2023, approximately 32,300 tourists from India arrived in Russia, while about 92,000 Russians travelled to India. This level of bilateral tourism is almost equivalent to the combined figures for 2021 and 2022.
“By the end of 2024, Russia plans to receive at least twice as many tourists from India as in 2023 – about 70,000 people... This number is still lower than the pre-COVID 2019 figure (90,900). However, the tourist flow from India in the first half of 2024 has more than doubled compared to the same period of the previous year,” she said.
Maksutova anticipated that maintaining this momentum could lead to a mutual tourist flow exceeding 250,000 trips, and it may reach more than 300,000 by 2025.
The primary destinations for Indian tourists this year in Russia include Moscow, the Golden Ring cities, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver, and Yekaterinburg, she noted.
Indian visitors show a strong interest in shopping, city exploration, cultural experiences, and "wedding" tourism, she added.
However, family trips (including couples) dominate the tour structure, although there is a noticeable rise in the number of young tourists looking for new adventures, Maksutova emphasised.
“The further expansion of tourist exchanges is due to a number of factors. The impetus will be given to it by agreements at the level of the leaders of the two states,” she stated.
Maksutova highlighted that during the early July talks, Russia and India addressed the potential increase in tourist trips, based on the results from the 22nd Russian-Indian Annual Summit, “Russia-India: Strong and Expanding Partnership.”