With India relaxing its tourist visa rules, more Russians are expected to visit the country, according to Russian officials.

"The flow of tourists from Russia to India may increase as getting entrance visas will be facilitated", Valery Korovkin, the chief of the international cooperation department of the Federal Agency for Tourism(Rostourism), told Itar-Tass news agency yesterday.

"The tourist stream to India from Russia will surely increase when getting visas becomes easier," he said.

"It is not that the number of Russian tourists in India will increase many-fold, as this is not a short distance and travel to India is not cheap," the Rostourism representative said.

However, it can be said with confidence that more Russian travellers will head for India, particularly for Goa in west India, popularity of which is increasing with every year.

"India presents historic and cultural interest to foreign tourists and still more tourists are welcome," he said.

Maya Lomidze, the executive director of the Russian Association of Tour Operators, was quoted as saying by the agency that "easier visas will bring more tourists to India".

Lomidze said there is a massive flow of tourists so far only to Goa where Russians travel mainly through tour operators.

India recently relaxed its tourist visa rules by lifting restrictions imposed on foreign visitors to have a two-month cooling off period between subsequent visits. Hence, those wishing to get a new visa to India will no longer have to wait for two months after the expiry of the previous one.

The restriction was imposed in 2009 after the Mumbai terror attack.

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