Moscow aims pre-Covid level footfall from India by end of 2023: Official

Over 13,000 Indians visited Moscow during the first half of 2022 and the footfall is expected to reach pre-Covid levels by 2023 end, despite the ongoing war in the region, Moscow City Tourism Committee said on Tuesday.

This year during the first six months, Moscow hosted 13.3 thousand Indians and it is expected that the pre-pandemic figures will be reached by the end of 2023, Moscow City Tourism Committee said in a statement.

In 2021, when the borders opened after the pandemic, it was noted that 48 per cent of Indian travellers visited Moscow.

According to the Federal Agency for Tourism, in 2021, the tourist flow from India to Moscow has recovered by 40 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic 2019.

The main driver for this growth in Indian footfalls to Moscow is the visa policy of Russia.

In September, President Vladimir Putin supported the initiative to introduce a visa-free regime for groups of foreign tourists.

Besides that, the e-visa application will be launched for 52 countries, including India, which is a simplified online procedure.

When asked about the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine affecting tourism, Moscow City Tourism Deputy Chairman of Committee Alina Arutyunova said "everything is smooth in spite of the war. In fact the traveller footfalls have increased."

She also plans to hold talks with representatives of the India tourism industry to further strengthen Moscow's relationship with India.