Russia Strikes India Off Safe Travel List

[amelia88]

I was honestly surprised to see this article in the news - Russia has declared that India is no longer on the list of safe countries to travel to. After the country revised their travel warnings for Egypt and Turkey in light of recent events, they seem to have taken a heavy handed approach and not recommended India either.

Here's a snippet from the article:

Amongst the destinations now identified as 'safe' are Cuba, south Vietnam and southern China. "Both India and Goa were not considered as good destinations for Russian travellers," said Ekaterina Belyakova, head of the Russian information centre. It's not just a blow for the Russian tourist whose options for sunny climes has shrunk further but for Goa's economy as well. "Over the past few years, the number of Russian tourists was not less than 50% of all foreign tourists visiting Goa. Since 2002, the number of Russian-speaking tourists has grown steadily. In 2013, the number of Russian tourists visiting Goa was 250,000," Belyakova said.

What do you think about this? I was really shocked - I feel like there's no specific threat in India so it's surprising for me that they would take such an approach.

 

[vegito12]

This is surprising it could be due to the danger some of these people have suffered so Russia may have decided to stop tourists from going to the country and wonder how the people will feel and also the country may suffer, from lack of Russian tourists which brings in money to the country. The media may be a cause of concern as some stories may be exaggerated and this can cause fear to some of the foreign countries, and also wonder what Russia will say about this and will have to hope other countries don't stop coming to the country. I think for women it may be a danger in some areas so the media has this in the story and this can put off people from entering the country, and also the costs in Goa can put people off and the tourists who are wealthy can only go to these sort of places and live there.

 

[amelia88]

Yes, I think a big part of it is just an overreaction by the Russian Government. I can understand if they would take places like Egypt off their safe travel lists given the downing of the Russian passenger aircraft there recently - but it seems odd that they would ban India!

I do wonder what kind of impact these bans have on a country's economy - a lot of places are pretty heavily tourism driven so it can be a big drop to the number of people visiting.

 

[artyarson]

I do not consider Russian goverment as very smart. Thankfully, they are not imposing a ban. They just recommend not visiting. It means I'm still able to buy tickets and go there. Btw, they tend to promote "now-Russian" Crimea and I'm kinda sick of it.

 

[Aja]

What place is safe anymore? If you worry about saftey all your life, you will never be able to live it to the fullest. Try visiting more remote areas of a country, rather than the touristy places. It will help you avoid crowds and you will make some wonderful discoveries you would never have known about otherwise.

 

[ChaseHayden]

I think the Russian government takes different safety procedures than a lot of other places.. Which can be good and bad, I am forced to believe they made these statements because India is a pass through, in between the truly unsafe countries. They obviously haven't set any insane motion out or cut off India entirely, it's just a form of paranoia that's being produced, what do you expect? However, yes, this is unfortunate, much of India, at one time, was considered sacred, so this is a bit uneasy and sad.

 

[artyarson]

"If you worry about saftey all your life, you will never be able to live it to the fullest"

Yep, I agree on that. Life is all about taking chances, risks and meeting new people. Safe route is a straight way to mediocrity.

 

[Gabydi]

Well, this is kind of shocking. What I don't really get is if India is no longer a safe place in general or only for Russian tourists. The thing is that as things are today around the world there are no safe places or countries anymore. We have to live and enjoy life and take opportunities, we cannot stop living.

Also, in my experience all this thing of "safe places to visit" is kind of exaggerated and stupid. I live in Mexico and my country has been in the "unsafe places to visit" for more than a decade and this hasn't stopped people from all over the world to come to the Mexican beaches every year. Accidents may happen in here or anywhere else in the world, but it's not common.

If I were a Russian citizen I wouldn't let this stop me from visiting India. I have plans to go to India soon and nothing and no one will make me change my mind or my plans.

 

[Benti]

It doesn't surprise me at all. You are not safe in your own backyard these days. I have a friend that lives in a remote village in Germany, and they are experiences issues with break-ins. You would have to wonder who would go so far off the beaten path to steal.

 

[amelia88]

Well, this is kind of shocking. What I don't really get is if India is no longer a safe place in general or only for Russian tourists. The thing is that as things are today around the world there are no safe places or countries anymore. We have to live and enjoy life and take opportunities, we cannot stop living.

Also, in my experience all this thing of "safe places to visit" is kind of exaggerated and stupid. I live in Mexico and my country has been in the "unsafe places to visit" for more than a decade and this hasn't stopped people from all over the world to come to the Mexican beaches every year. Accidents may happen in here or anywhere else in the world, but it's not common.

If I were a Russian citizen I wouldn't let this stop me from visiting India. I have plans to go to India soon and nothing and no one will make me change my mind or my plans.

You're right, I think that the fact of the matter is these days we live in a world where bad things can happen anywhere, at any time - even if we are taking all the precautions under the sun to try and stay safe. We only have to look at Paris recently where there were the attacks on the restaurant and concert hall - these aren't typical places you would think that something like that would occur.

We have to still live our lives - and like you, I won't be discouraged from visiting!