New Delhi, Nov. 2 -- Russian tourism industry representatives on Monday highlighted the growing tourism exchanges between India and Russia, emphasising the need to explore new destinations, strengthen tourism cooperation and expand travel opportunities beyond traditional tourist hotspots under the 'Open Your Russia 2.0' programme.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the programme, Alexander Dodonov, Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Representative Office in India and Director of the Russian House in New Delhi, highlighted the longstanding cultural connections between the two countries and said that a large number of Russians were interested in visiting India.

"Lots of Russians want to come to India because Russians have loved Indian movies...