REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KAZAN - Russia promotes its tourism to Indonesians. The former Sovyet Union country now begins to open the door to welcome foreigners to see the beauty Kremlin, St. Petersburg and Tartarsan. Deputy of Tatarstan Minister of Tourism, Sergey Ivanov said that Tatarstan targetted two millions tourists to visit the country this year.
"So many Indonesian tourists have visited Russia, including to Republic of Tatarstan," Ivanov said on Friday.
Growing number of Indonesian students studying in Russia also contributes to the flock of tourists. Ivanov said that more Russian tourists visited Indonesia instead of Malaysia. Bali is very popular among the Russians and they usually go to Indonesia by hiring special plane and stay longer. They even spend money and holidays more than tourists from other countries.
Deputy of Indonesian Ambassador to Russia, Moenir Ari Soenanda said the distance between Indonesia and Russia now was not a problem anymore. "Russia has many interesting tourist destinations. They have Kremlin, St Petersburg and Kazan, a Russian Muslim Center," he said.