In sunny Goa, Russians are selling icy Sochi, the Black sea resort that has just hosted the spectacular 2014 Winter Olympics as a possible destination in an Indian tourist's itinerary.
"After the Winter Olympics hosted by Sochi, it had emerged as a new tourist destination with people all over the world exploring its potential, its riches and its beauty," says Ekaterina Belyakova, who runs the Russian Information Centre (RIC) here.
Belyakova, who also runs a tour and travel business in coastal Goa, is one of the several Russian trade representatives participating in the Goa International Travel Mart (GITM) being held on the outskirts of Panaji.
She further said that more and more Indians were showing interest in Russia as a tourism destination, which had resulted in weekly packages to prominent destinations such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities.
During the last tourist season, over 150,000 Russians visited Goa, whose mild, sunny winter coincides with the harshest spell of winter in Russia, making the Western Indian state a popular destination.
But the increasing number of Russian travellers, their inability to speak in English as well as other local issues have led to a series of skirmishes between the two communities, heightening insecurity. The Goa government's abrupt cancellation of an Indo-Russian music festival earlier year almost threatened to trigger a diplomatic row between the two countries.
Amid reports of such a growing sense of unease between Russian tourists and natives, the RIC has announced language classes which, it claims could help tide over misgivings between the two communities and add an important language skill-set to Goa's tourism sector workforce.
"The RIC has launched Russian language courses in Goa to eliminate language barriers between Russian-speaking tourists and Indian businessmen. The courses are designed to help Indians working in tourism industry to learn industry-specific language within a short span of time," said a statement issued by the Centre during a press briefing Thursday.
Free seats will also be offered to hotel operators and taxi drivers and other people willing to laern Russian.
"We have developed a syllabus, got the required books and experienced professors and, most importantly, a lot of people who want to learn one of the toughest languages in the world," said Anastasya Gritsay, head of Russian language courses and editor-in-chief of Russian language magazine Kraski Goa (Colors of Goa) published from here.
"We are planning to not only teach Russian here in Goa but to help students travel to Russia to meet their counterparts in Moscow and St. Petersburg and practice the language in an atmosphere different from Goa's. We hope even a short trip to Russia will enrich Indian students with knowledge of Russia and a taste for Russian culture and language," Belyakova said.
The Russian language class initiative has been offically backed by the consulate of the Russian Federation in Mumbai.
