New Delhi [India], November 2 (ANI): Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) Assistant Secretary General Payal Swami on Monday welcomed the 'Open Your Russia 2.0' initiative, calling it a significant step towards strengthening India-Russia tourism ties and promoting cultural exchanges and investment between the two countries.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the programme at Russia House in the national capital, Swami said, 'Today's programme, Russia Open Your Dialogue 2.0, has been a great initiative between the counterparts of India and Russia. It is a great strength and a booming sector which we are focusing towards cultural development, ties, inviting people to invest in Russia and their products, and likewise bringing them to India as well.'

Highlighting the importance of connectivity in expanding bilateral tourism and people-to-people ties, she said, 'The connectivity, as we have seen in today's agenda, could be improved through different modes. The ties are quite strong, and obviously, they are going to move forward in a booming manner.'

Meanwhile, Indian Chamber of Commerce Aviation and Tourism Expert Committee Chairman and STIC Travels Chairman Subhash Goyal called for an open sky policy between India and Russia, stating that the move could lead to a 50 to 100 per cent increase in tourism and trade between the two countries within two years.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 'Open Your Russia 2.0' programme at the Russia House in New Delhi, Goyal highlighted the scope for strengthening tourism and economic ties between the two countries and said that improved air connectivity could play a significant role in achieving this objective.

'I am very happy to attend this India-Russia tourism interaction event today... While political relations between India and Russia are great, from a tourism perspective, we need a lot of improvement... I have issued an appeal, and we passed a unanimous resolution calling for an open sky policy between India and Russia. As a result, within two years, there will be a 50 to 100 per cent increase in both tourism and trade,' Goyal said.

Moreover, Moscow MICE (Moscow City Tourism Committee) Ambassador Anupam Vohra also spoke to ANI and highlighted air connectivity as a key challenge in expanding tourism exchanges between India and Russia.

'There are currently only about five direct flights from Delhi to Moscow. While there used to be flights from Mumbai to Moscow as well, they appear to have been cancelled or are currently unavailable,' Vohra said.

'Resolving this air connectivity issue is essential if we want to increase tourism in both directions between India and Russia,' he added.

Vohra further said that discussions were planned with the Director General of Tourism of the Government of India to explore the formation of a joint working group on tourism.

'We have a meeting with the Director General of Tourism of the Government of India tomorrow, where there is a plan to set up a joint working group on tourism. Secondly, we will work on addressing these transport issues. Lastly, a promising new initiative is emerging: the Russian government wants to increase Indian investment in Russia's hotel sector,' he said.

The remarks by the tourism representatives come as the Russian Cultural Centre in the national capital hosted 'Open Your Russia 2.0', an inbound tourism development programme implemented by the Center for Strategic Research (CSR), with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI).

India is one of the priority international markets for Russian regions.

Tver Region, Sverdlovsk Region, Leningrad Region, and the Republic of Karelia presented their recommendations for increasing the footprint of Indian tourists.

The 'Open Your Russia 2.0' programme brought together Russian tourism representatives and Indian tourism professionals to explore opportunities for strengthening tourism cooperation, improving air connectivity and expanding travel exchanges between the two countries. (ANI)