Blow to INDIA as indian best friend Russia strikes India off its safe travel destinations list

[liall]

Didnt realise going to Vietnam for holidays was cheaper than going to Goa.

 

[PakEye]

Goa has become too expensive for Russians to afford.

one of my friend from swiss ..she said she cant afford goa...so we planning to go jaipur

Russians operatae drug mafia in GOA. Russians operate number of club chains hosting rave parties.
Russian govt. wont be able to keep Russians away from Goa.

The Russian information centre also pointed out that affordability was another reason behind falling Russian arrivals to Goa..

Less russians will visit Turkey by now and hope india can attract those tourists as well

Time to bring Agni 5 in ACTION!!!!

Russians wont come to Goa?? lulwa..let me tell you Goa was a piece of land during ice age that broke off from russia and somehow managed to join Indian subcontinent, you need to go there to understand what I am saying, the Russians are the real owners of land there

I can't imagine Goa without Russians , rates need to be lowered & strict action must be taken against who overcharge

Didnt realise going to Vietnam for holidays was cheaper than going to Goa.

Russia hasn’t dropped India from list of safe destinations: Officials
Hindustan Times‎ - 2 hours ago

• HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Panaji/New Del Updated: Nov 29, 2015 22:08 IST

Russia on Sunday denied that India has been dropped from its list of safe destinations for tourists, with the Russian Information Centre based in Goa clarifying that a press statement issued earlier had been misinterpreted.

“Our statement did not have any information regarding removal of India from the list of safe countries or including India in the list of unsafe countries as was mentioned in several reports and headlines published in the Indian media,” Ekaterina Belyakova, head of the centre, said in a statement issued on Sunday.

The centre said that its earlier statement mentioned efforts made by Russia to scout new safe tourism destinations like Cuba, south Vietnam and southern China and that the statement may have been misinterpreted.

It said the main objective was to showcase Goa as a possible alternative destination to Egypt and Turkey, which were popular with Russian tourists. Russia has suspended all flights to Egypt after an airliner carrying 224 people crashed

in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all on board, while Turkey’s decision to shoot down a Russian warplane has resulted in the Kremlin announcing economic sanctions against Ankara.

“Goa has always been a favourite with Russian tourist. Such is the demand that last year, Air India resumed its Moscow flight after a gap of around 15 years. Around 50% of tourists visiting Goa in winters are Russians,” said Rajji Rai, former president Travel Agents Association of India and chairman Swift Travels.

To cater to the increased traffic during winters, special charter flights are operated by Russian charter companies to bring travellers to India. Around 2.5 lakh Russian tourists visited the country in 2013.

“Thousands travel between the two countries every month and beginning November, the traffic shoots. Weather and budget make Goa a favourite for the Russians,” said Rai.

For the travel industry, Rai said, Russians mean good business. “They stay here for an average 3-6 months and are an integral part of the travel industry here,” he added.

Earlier reports had claimed that Russia, in its latest travel advisory, had decided to remove India from its list of safe destinations.
Russia hasn’t dropped India from list of safe destinations: Officials | india | Hindustan Times

 

[trees55]

Bad . Always wanted to travel India .

 

[Nilgiri]

Bad . Always wanted to travel India .

And you still can.

Its a hoax news as usual.

Ive seen plenty of Russians visiting all parts of India and taking back great stories of friendship and cultural exchange with them.

Russian beach babes in Goa are a nice sight for all red blooded guys like me too

 

[ranjeet]

Here is official Defence.PK tweet on the issue. I don't know what the picture has to do with news though.

https://twitter.com/x/status/671323628961665026

 

[AndrewJin]

Didnt realise going to Vietnam for holidays was cheaper than going to Goa.

Vietnam is cheap, safe and clean, compared to average developing countries.
India has a long way to reach Vietnam's tourism infrastructure level.

Such family room including grand breakfast by the beach only 20 dollars in 2012.

 

[liall]

Vietnam is cheap, safe and clean, compared to average developing countries.
India has a long way to reach Vietnam's tourism infrastructure level.
View attachment 276025 View attachment 276027 View attachment 276029 View attachment 276028 View attachment 276030

Such family room including grand breakfast by the beach only 20 dollars in 2012.View attachment 276026

Better infrastructure and facilities often comes at a price. All major touristic places are really expensive.

 

[AndrewJin]

Better infrastructure and facilities often comes at a price. All major touristic places are really expensive.

Not in Southeast Asia, relatively good infra and tourist faculties, and prices much cheaper than China.
BTW, 3-5 stars hotels in mainland China/Vietnam/Thailand is much cheaper than India.

 

[Nilgiri]

Vietnam is cheap, safe and clean, compared to average developing countries.
India has a long way to reach Vietnam's tourism infrastructure level.
View attachment 276025 View attachment 276027 View attachment 276029 View attachment 276028 View attachment 276030

Such family room including grand breakfast by the beach only 20 dollars in 2012.View attachment 276026

It depends where you go in India, though I agree Vietnam is probably ahead overall.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

completely idiotic title. Like sharm-el-sheik Russians come by the plane loads, taking entire charter planes. Russia is very logically concerned that this might lead to Russians getting targeted.

 

[AndrewJin]

It depends where you go in India, though I agree Vietnam is probably ahead overall.

Every country has beautiful scenery.
The highest level is like Japan, scenery sucks, but people want to go there.

 

[Nilgiri]

Every country has beautiful scenery.
The highest level is like Japan, scenery sucks, but people want to go there.

True. But Japan tourism (for its number of people, size of economy, "soft power/culture" worldwide) is actually quite low.

Japan - 17 billion USD yearly in receipts (2013)

India - 19 billion

Vietnam - 7.5 billion

China - 56 billion

International tourism, receipts (current US$) | Data | Table

 

[AnnoyingOrange]

CALANGUTE: In a second blow to Goa's tourism industry which was already reeling from a reduction in arrivals due to the devaluation of the rouble, India has been struck off the list of safe travel destinations recommended for Russian tourists, according to a report by the Russian news agency INTERFAX.

In a statement on Saturday, the Russian information centre in Goa stated that a revised travel advisory had been issued following the blacklisting of Egypt and Turkey. President Vladimir Putin had canceled all flights to Egypt after the October 31 explosion of a Russian passenger plane over the Sinai peninsula, and then called on its citizens to cancel vacations in Turkey after Turkish missiles shot down a Russian fighter jet in Syria.


Amongst the destinations now identified as 'safe' are Cuba, south Vietnam and southern China. "Both India and Goa were not considered as good destinations for Russian travellers," said Ekaterina Belyakova, head of the Russian information centre. It's not just a blow for the Russian tourist whose options for sunny climes has shrunk further but for Goa's economy as well. "Over the past few years, the number of Russian tourists was not less than 50% of all foreign tourists visiting Goa. Since 2002, the number of Russian-speaking tourists has grown steadily. In 2013, the number of Russian tourists visiting Goa was 250,000," Belyakova said.



According to an earlier INTERFAX report on Thursday, First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Russian Federation, Ivan Melnikov, focused primarily on Cuba, Vietnam and China as new directions for tourist flow as they "have excellent infrastructure, friendly atmosphere and warm weather in winter".

"Unfortunately, both India and Goa, were not discussed as a promising direction for Russian travelers," INTERFAX reported.

The Russians were quick to add that the removal of Goa from the safe list was not connected to terror attacks but some ugly local incidents.

The Russian information centre also pointed out that affordability was another reason behind falling Russian arrivals to Goa. The weakening economy had made Russian citizens look for less expensive travel destinations across Asia. "The crisis began in 2014, and together with the devaluation of the rouble, Russians arriving in Goa halved in number. Contributing to this was also negative incidents involving taxi drivers, and price increases. The trend for 2016 says that there will be more reduction. A very negative impact is the bankruptcy of Transaero Airlines, which flew 50% of Russian tourists to Goa," Belyakova added.


She also pointed how expensive Goa had become vis a vis other Asian destinations. "According to booking.com, a room with a sea view and air conditioning in Vietnam will cost Rs 700 per night, while in Goa, the same is not less than Rs 1,500," she said. Five star rates too have hit the roof in Goa.

Analysts are saying that this could perhaps be a tactic to put pressure on the Indian government to intervene and improve conditions for Russian travellers.




With Egypt and Turkey together receiving more than seven million Russian tourists annually, those numbers will now shift to other travel destinations. It remains to be seen whether the Goa government or the Centre will try and woo back the Russians.

Under educated folks should read t his :Never said India removed as safe travel destination: Russia - The Economic Times

 

[AndrewJin]

True. But Japan tourism (for its number of people, size of economy, "soft power/culture" worldwide) is actually quite low.

Japan - 17 billion USD yearly in receipts (2013)

India - 19 billion

Vietnam - 7.5 billion

China - 56 billion

International tourism, receipts (current US$) | Data | Table

But Vietnam/Japan is small.
Hope China and India can surpass France in number and revenues.

 

[trees55]

And you still can.

Its a hoax news as usual.

Ive seen plenty of Russians visiting all parts of India and taking back great stories of friendship and cultural exchange with them.

Russian beach babes in Goa are a nice sight for all red blooded guys like me too

Of course, news-dramma again

both india, vietnam and thailand have good places to travel, especially without russian tourists