Tourism representation firm Salvia Promoters has signed an agreement with Arkhangelsk Tourism Board to represent the Russian Arctic region in India in order to promote tourism from India.

In a move that strengthens its position as a clear market leader in Eurasian region, tourism representation firm Salvia Promoters has bagged another client in Russia.

The Delhi-based representation firm has signed an agreement with the Government of Arkhangelsk Region in northern Russia to represent the Russian city located in the Arctic Circle with the mandate to promote the destination in India and strengthen the number of Indian arrivals to this territory that remains unexplored by most Indian travellers.

The agreement was signed by Mishin Sergey, Head, of Centre for Development of Tourism and Culture of Ministry of Culture of Government of Arkhangelsk Region and Prashant Chaudhary, Head of Salvia Promoters, in the presence of Anna Tyutrina, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Government of Arkhangelsk Region.

“The Indian market is very important for us and we are waiting for tourists from India as we offer a wide range of tours and activities here. We can offer both activity tours and family-based tours. We have a lot of attractions and sights, especially natural ones, which we hope Indian tourists will find holidays in Arkhangelsk to be very unique, unusual and impressive,’’ Deputy Minister Tyutrina tells India Outbound.

“We hope that we can promote our region in cooperation with Indian tour operators through such familiarisation tours,’’ Tyutrina adds.

‘‘Of course, India is a great market, very important market for us and we know that Indian people would like to explore the world and they travel all around the world. So we would like to welcome them here in Russia as well. We know that Indian people can bring money to our region and we can give them emotions and impressions,’’ Mishin Sergey of Tourism Development Centre tells India Outbound.

“We would like to promote our gems and we consider as gems our traditional cuisine, our wooden architecture and our traditions, our White Sea and of course the shipyards where wooden ships are made. We would like to add that our region is perfect to see the Northern or Polar Lights so we would like to welcome Indian tourists to come and witness this amazing natural phenomenon from Arkhangelsk,’’ Sergey adds.

Chaudhary, from Salvia Promoters, says that Arkhangelsk remains a virgin territory for Indian tourists as most tourists from India to Russia restrict themselves to Moscow and St Petersburg. 

‘‘We have already organised the first FAM trip from India to Arkhangelsk and we are planning to organise more such FAM trips to this beautiful region. Arkhangelsk is an unexplored region for Indians and now they can come to not only the most important cities of Russia, but also add this beautiful and unique region to their itineraries,’’ Chaudhary tells India Outbound.

He adds that in order to promote Arkhangelsk and Russian Arctic in India, a number of activities will be undertaken, most of which will focus initially on the B2B side of the tourism industry in India. “We are planning to promote it extensively in India, through more engagements with the Indian travel industry and by participating in tourism exhibitions in different cities across India,” says Chaudhary.

Chaudhary says that Arkhangelsk is a year-round destination, with a large number of activities in all seasons to attract Indian visitors. 

“First of all, Arkhangelsk is famous for the Northern Lights. But we are planning to promote this destination not only for the northern lights or the winters where we have a lot of activities, particularly with India. This is a great destination even during the summer when they will be able to explore the Arctic region and participate in different kinds of activities,’’ he adds.