THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Russia hopes to strengthen ties with Kerala in the tourism sector, said Oleg Avdeev, Consul General of Russia to South India. He was speaking after inaugurating a seminar organised by the Russian Cultural Centre and Yatrika magazine.
“There has been a significant rise in the number of tourists to Kerala from Russia. Kerala has always been the favourite tourist destination of Russian tourists. Although there was a dip in the number of tourists in the 90s, Kerala has yet again emerged as the favourite tourist spot of Russians,” he said.
He further added that the number of Keralites visiting Russia has also increased. “The Russian national flight carrier Aeroflot has started a new service from Colombo. This would help more Keralites to visit Russia,” he said. He also inaugurated two programmes - the ‘Discover Russia’ programme and another one exploring the Russian literature by visiting Russia.
“These two programmes envisages at associating with different airlines and providing an opportunity for Keralites to visit landmark locations and other regions of cultural importance in Russia at low rates,” says Ratheesh C Nair, Honorary Consul of Russia in Thiruvananthapuram and director of the Russian Cultural Centre.
A new package to experience the winter season in Russia christened ‘Winter in Russia’ will also be started. The programmes will be implemented in association with the various Russian government agencies and museums,” he said.