Did not say India was unsafe for tourists, says Russian Embassy in India

NEW DELHI: The Russian Embassy in India has expressed disappointment with numerous media reports about India having been identified by Russia as an unfavourable tourist destination, which misquoted unofficial sources.

While advisories have regularly been issued by Russian authorities for Russian citizens to refrain from visiting certain countries for various reasons, never ever has any of the kind been recommended as regards of India, the Embassy said in a statement on Monday.

"The Embassy underlines that there is no official list of destinations recommended for Russian tourists. Russia and India are friendly nations and strategic partners, historically sharing the Atithidevo Bhava attitude towards each other. The increase of inflow of Russian tourists to India is expected during the 2015-2016 tourist season, which at its peak touched 150 thousand Russians visiting India in winter months," the statement underscored.

There were reports on Saturday that Russian government had advised its citizens to stop traveling to Goa and clubbed it with unsafe destinations like Egypt and Turkey for their nationals.