India-Russia tourism: Open Your Russia 2.0 meet seeks open skies, more flights
By Aditi KulkarniEducation Writer, Peepals Bharat
Representative image: mimoulamiou / Pixabay
At Open Your Russia 2.0 in New Delhi on 2 November 2026, Russian regions courted Indian tour operators as the trade sought an open skies deal.
What Happened
Russian tourism officials and Indian travel-trade leaders met at the Russian Cultural Centre in New Delhi on Monday, 2 November 2026, for "Open Your Russia 2.0", a business-to-business programme meant to bring more Indian travellers to Russia and more Russians to India. Representatives of the Tver, Sverdlovsk and Leningrad regions and the Republic of Karelia presented their tourism offers to Indian tour operators. The main complaint in the room was the shortage of direct flights, and industry voices backed a resolution calling for an "open skies" policy between the two countries.
Key Facts
- Event: "Open Your Russia 2.0", an inbound tourism programme run by Russia's Center for Strategic Research with support from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.
- Venue and date: the Russian Cultural Centre (Russia House), New Delhi, on Monday, 2 November 2026.
- Russian regions on show: Tver, Sverdlovsk, Leningrad and the Republic of Karelia.
- Travel figures: Alexander Sitnikov, the Russian economic development ministry's representative in India, put mutual tourist trips in 2025 at about 143,000.
- First half of 2026: accounts of Sitnikov's remarks differ, with one giving about 65,000 trips and another 75,300, which it describes as 8% more than in the same months of 2025.
- Flights: speakers said there are only around five direct flights between Delhi and Moscow, and that earlier Mumbai-Moscow services are no longer available.
- Demand: travel-trade leader Subhash Goyal of STIC Travels said a unanimous resolution backing an open skies policy had been passed, and projected that tourism and trade could rise 50 to 100% within two years if connectivity improves.
Why It Matters
For a country of India's size, about 143,000 trips a year in both directions is a small number, and the main reason given at the Delhi meeting was simple: getting there is hard. With only around five direct Delhi-Moscow flights cited by speakers, many travellers have to change planes elsewhere, which adds time and cost.
The programme's format tells its own story. Rather than a ministerial meeting, it was a trade event aimed at the people who actually sell holidays: Indian tour operators, hotel associations and travel agents. Russian regions beyond the two big cities, such as Karelia and Sverdlovsk, were pitching directly to them. For Indian operators, that means new itineraries to sell; for Indian travellers, it may mean more packaged options that include visa help, Indian food and guides.
The flow also runs the other way. Sitnikov said Russians are discovering India with pleasure, naming the beaches of Goa, the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur route and Ayurveda trips to Kerala. Alexander Dodonov, head of the Rossotrudnichestvo office in India, said a large number of Russians want to visit India.
Payal Swami of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) welcomed the programme as a useful step for the two countries' tourism and cultural links. Goyal also pointed to Russian interest in Indian investment in Russia's hotel sector.
Peepals calculation: about 143,000 trips in 2025 works out to roughly 11,900 trips a month (143,000 ÷ 12). The two reported figures for January to June 2026 give about 10,800 a month (65,000 ÷ 6) or about 12,550 a month (75,300 ÷ 6), so only the higher figure would mean faster travel than last year's average. Our calculation from the reported figures.
| Measure | Figure reported |
|---|---|
| Mutual tourist trips, 2025 | About 143,000 |
| Mutual trips, January-June 2026 | 65,000 or 75,300 (accounts differ) |
| Direct Delhi-Moscow flights | Around five, according to speakers |
| Growth projected with open skies | 50-100% in two years (Goyal's projection) |
Impact
Short-term: Nothing changes for travellers yet. No government on either side has announced new flights or a change in air-services rules after the meeting. The immediate effect is likely to be new tie-ups between Indian tour operators and Russian regional tourism bodies, and more Russia packages on sale this winter and next summer.
Long-term: If the open skies call gains official support, airlines on both sides could add routes without waiting for fresh seat allocations under a bilateral agreement. Supporters say that would mean more frequencies and more city pairs. Speakers also mentioned discussions on a joint tourism working group with India's tourism officials, though reports differ on whether that is being explored or only planned.
Who is affected: Indian tour operators and travel agents looking for new destinations; Indian students, business travellers and tourists headed to Russia; hotels and guides in Goa, Kerala and the Golden Triangle that depend on Russian visitors; and Indian and Russian airlines.
Key Takeaway
Russia is courting Indian tourists region by region, but the travel trade says the real barrier is a lack of direct flights, and it wants an open skies deal to fix it.
Questions and Answers
What is Open Your Russia 2.0?
It is an inbound tourism programme run by Russia's Center for Strategic Research, backed by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. Its New Delhi edition on 2 November 2026 brought Russian regional tourism bodies together with Indian travel businesses.
How many tourist trips are there between India and Russia?
The Russian economic development ministry's representative in India put mutual trips at about 143,000 in 2025. Reports of his remarks give different totals for the first half of 2026: about 65,000 in one account and 75,300 in another.
Why do Indian travel companies want an open skies policy with Russia?
Speakers said there are only around five direct Delhi-Moscow flights and no Mumbai-Moscow service now. An open skies arrangement would let airlines add flights more freely, which the trade says could lift tourism and trade by 50 to 100% in two years.
Are new India-Russia flights confirmed?
No. The resolution came from industry participants at the event. Neither government has announced new flights or a change in air-services rules.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Aditi Kulkarni, Education WriterCovers Education and more for Peepals Bharat. All stories by Aditi Kulkarni
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Aditi Kulkarni is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
