Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturism) on September 1 proposed a mutual visa-free group tourist exchange mechanism with India, Iran and Vietnam, ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

Head of the agency Oleg Safonov said that such a mechanism has been implemented between Russia and China since 2000 and has proved effective.

Rosturism proposes a mutual visa-free group tourist exchange mechanism with India, Iran and Vietnam. Photo for illustration: VOV

He expressed his belief that if the agreements are signed with India, Iran and Vietnam, they will also produce positive results.

Statistics from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) showed that Southeast Asia is currently an attractive destination for Russian tourists.

In the first half of this year, the number of Russian tourists to the region increased by 17 percent against the same period last year.

A total of 204,400 Russians visited Vietnam in the period, up 21 percent year-on-year.

Source: VNA