By IANS,
New Delhi : India is putting its best foot forward as it gets ready to attract the Russian tourist with colourful cultural performances, mouth-watering cuisine and a plethora of tourism destinations for the “Incredible India” roadshow in Russia.
With tourism from Russia seeing a surge, a wide variety of “Incredible India” events are being planned Sep 22-27 in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a tourism official here told IANS.
The events, planned as part of the ‘Year of India in Russia’ celebrations, have been jointly organised by the tourism ministry in association with the Indian mission in Russia and Experience India Society, a society of hoteliers, tour operators and tourism officials that works for promotion of tourism in the country.
“The primary objective of the Incredible India events is to showcase the tourism potential of India and to place India as a favoured destination for the Russians,” the official said.
In this direction, an aggressive publicity campaign was launched – outdoor and print media – to advertise the uniqueness of India, its culture and its destinations. This was carried out by the India tourism office based in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The highlight of the gala event will be the India evening at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Moscow Wednesday. A similar evening will also be organised at the Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg Sep 24, the official added.
The official said some of India’s best known artistes will be performing, including Tanusree Shankar, an internationally known dancer and choreographer.
This will be followed by a four-day long ‘India Food Festivals’.
“A team of 12 top chefs from India’s premier hotel chains have been specially flown to Russia to popularize the best of Indian cuisine in Russia,” the official added.
The aim of organising the six-day festivity in Russia is to attract more tourists.
“Tourist arrivals from Russia is showing a steady growth. Russia is an important source market for Indian tourism, reflecting high growth rate over the last few years and it is expected that this growth will increase still further,” the official added.
In 2008, an estimated 91,423 tourists from Russia came to India as compared to 75,543 in 2007.
“The Incredible India events provide an effective platform for showcasing Indian culture, cuisine and myriad tourism products to a large gathering of elite audience in Russia,” he said.
Apart from organising the gala events, India will also participate in the Otdykh Leisure Show 2009 in Moscow, which is the 14th International Trade Fair for Tourism. The fair is from 23 to 26.
India is putting up an India Pavilion at the fair and it will be inaugurated by additional secretary tourism Sanjay Kothari, the official added.