Mumbai: We are here to say Moscow is safe, says Dy chairman of Moscow City Tourism Committee

Moscow is a participant in the ongoing tourism exhibitionmdashOutbound Travel Mart OTMmdashheld at a BandraKurla Complex convention centre The Moscow delegation is headed by Alina Arutyunova deputy chairman of Moscow City Tourism Committee who held a press conference on the sidelines of the event The press meet was to outline the push by the Russian capital to see a spurt in Indian tourist numbersThe conference began with Arutyunova saying ldquoThis is an opportune time for Russia and India to strengthen ties Our aim is to make more individual tourists come to MoscowrdquoArutyunova and her team stated ldquoWe had 50000 Indian tourists in Moscow in 2021 and in the first half of 2022 we have seen 13300 Indian tourists This is a small number but we are working on increasing it Moscow is now practically COVIDfree and restrictions have been done away withrdquoTo questions about the RussiaUkraine war for that is surely top of the mind for wouldbetourists Arutyunova along with her team replied ldquoWe are here to say that Moscow is safe for tourists In fact it is safe to travel to Russia There are three flights a week from Delhi and the government may work on increasing the frequency Those three flights are enough but also not enough In Moscow things are normal and citizens are enjoying their livesrdquo However when pressed on sanctions as a fallout of the war she said ldquoI cannot use cards here during my travel I am using cash I guess tourists may need to do the same They may have to pay in cash and it is better if one goes through a travel agent during this timerdquoAlso Read Mumbai Railways invite bids for BKC station for Bullet trainAttracting touristsWhen the questions on war were over it was evident there was some relief and the team stressed on the Moscow experience ldquoThe roundtrip flight tickets cost around 700 USD which is a good fare right now Moscow is a very green city and it is also digitisedrdquo they stated To a question about the language barrier the boost tourism team said that ldquoIn Moscow street names are written in both Russian and EnglishrdquoldquoYounger people in Moscow do know English and speak the language better than I dordquo Arutyunova said to laughs adding ldquoBut a 70yearold may not know Englishrdquo Another team member quickly interjected saying ldquoMoscow is digitised and the apps are in English so this makes things very easyrdquoThe team also rolled out numbersmdashMoscow has 40 luxury hotels and 69 dinein Michelin starred restaurants ldquoWe have vegan options for vegetarians and there are a significant number of Indian restaurants in Moscow toordquo said the teamThe tourism team stressed on simplified visas for Indian tourists and reduction in consular fees There was also talk about spring and summer being the tourist season for Indians but the tourism and hospitality development team added ldquoThe journey to the Christmas festival begins in Moscow early in December with beautiful installations and art objects Fluffy Christmas trees will appear in the capital and almost 20 free ice rinks will openrdquo They also emphasised on the safety aspect in Moscow with tourists being able to walk safely in the evening and its special tourist police which help foreignersWith all the upbeat tenor and upsides even though it was not repeatedly brought up the war did throw a shadow over the press briefing One could not help but feel for the team here to push for Moscow There was some discomfiture and despite brave statements from the Russian team such as ldquoRussia and India are big countries and do not depend on the geopolitical situations todayrdquo one was left with the thought that directly or indirectly it is always the citizens who pay the price for conflicts133kIndian tourists in Moscow from JanJun 2022