TravTalk India Online Magazine
Moscow is reinforcing its status as a premier destination for leisure and business tourism. The destination saw a 1.5-fold rise in Indian travellers in H1 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. Introduction of e-visa system in August 2023 played a pivotal role in driving this growth, thereby making India a priority market for Moscow.
Hazel Jain
After 2020, India has been among the leading non-CIS countries sending tourists to Moscow, a trend that continued into 2024. The first half of 2024 saw a remarkable 1.5-fold increase in Indian travellers to Moscow compared to the same period in 2023, amounting to 28,500 visitors. This growth was driven primarily by the introduction of e-visa system in August 2023, which made travel for Indian passport holders more accessible and boosted MICE traffic from India to Russia.
With a longstanding partnership built on strategic, cultural, and economic cooperation, Moscow recently participated in trade shows in India to strengthen ties and gain insights into the preferences of Indian travellers. Leading the delegation from Moscow was Evgeny Kozlov, First Deputy Head of the Office of the Mayor and the Government of Moscow, and Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee. He said, “We aim to target both leisure and MICE tourism through tailored business missions, familiarisation trips to Moscow and B2B negotiations. While most tourists visit Moscow for cultural, educational, and entertainment purposes, the city has also been focusing on expanding business tourism, which is now a significant contributor to the local economy. By 2030 the number of foreign tourists is expected to reach 6 million people, mainly with travellers from the CIS countries, the Asia Pacific region, India, and the Middle East.”
Apart from participating in trade events, Moscow City Tourism Committee also hosted a gala dinner, brought together more than 170 key partners, including prominent associations like TIA, OTOAI, NIMA, MICE agencies, tour operators and travel agents, along with delegates from Moscow, to celebrate the strengthening bond between India and the Russian capital. Moscow has also signed an MoU with Thomas Cook India aimed at promoting Moscow as a key destination for leisure and business tourism across India’s key metros, mini-metros, and emerging tier II and III source markets.
Specialist programme
Moscow also has an online ‘Moscow Ambassadors Programme’ to showcase the tourism and MICE products of Moscow. “We have our special website discovermoscow.com, where travel agents can see the link to this specialist programme to become the Ambassadors of Moscow tourism and for Moscow MICE tourism in India. And we have the special platform cooperation called RusPass that also has the link to this programme. We welcome agents to start their training here. Thanks to our federal government and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have the option of e-visa for Indian tourists which takes only four days to process after filling the electronic form. You can get an e-visa for your clients without going anywhere,” Kozlov said. Himanshu Patil, President, OTOAI, commented, “Moscow is a safe and culturally rich destination. With the simplified visa process, we expect a significant rise in travel interest from India to Moscow.”
In addition, an agreement was signed between Moscow and Maharashtra Tourism at OTM, aimed at developing and promoting tourism between Moscow and Mumbai. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India), said, “On behalf of the Thomas Cook India Group, I am delighted to announce our strategic long-term and multi-pronged partnership with Moscow Project Office for tourism and hospitality development that extends across our range of segments – including MICE and leisure.”
