MUMBAI, 30 January 2025: Thomas Cook (India) secured a prestigious contract with the Indian Government, making it the exclusive partner (accommodation, catering, and transport) for the National Games of India 2025, which opened on 28 January. 

This Olympic-style, multi-sport event brings together top athletes from across India’s states and union territories. It features 32 sporting disciplines and four demonstration events and is being hosted in Uttarakhand until 14 February 2025.

Thomas Cook India’s role as the exclusive partner delivers end-to-end management across three key portfolios of accommodation, catering and transport for the 20,000-strong  Games contingent. It includes over 10,000 athletes, 5,000 support staff, and 3,000 dignitaries. Thomas Cook India has deployed a dedicated team of over 200 staff to manage operations across 11 locations and 32 venues over 18 nights.

Standouts of the partnership

• Management of over 50,000 room nights across multiple locations and venues.
• More than 250,000 meals prepared in live kitchens for athletes, support staff, and dignitaries.
• Over 5,000 coaches and 12,000 small vehicle duties to ensure smooth operations.
• A dedicated 24/7 control room with a toll-free number to support all event-related queries.
• Over 1,000 trees were planted by Thomas Cook India as part of the Green Games initiative.

Thomas Cook (India) Limited President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa Rajeev Kale said: “The much anticipated National Games 2025, inaugurated by the Honourable Prime Minister  Narendra Modi, celebrate India’s top athletes while playing a pivotal role in advancing India’s sports ecosystem… It is truly an honour for us at Thomas Cook India to be selected for the second consecutive year as the exclusive partner for the prestigious National Games.”

NEW DELHI, 29 January 2025: The Moscow City Tourism Committee is ramping up efforts to deepen collaboration with India’s outbound tourism market, focusing on business events or the MICE sector.

Moscow is reinforcing its status as a premier leisure and business tourism destination, with India emerging as a key strategic partner. 

After 2020, India was among the leading non-CIS countries that sent tourists to Moscow, a trend that continued robustly throughout 2024. In the first half of 2024, the Russian capital welcomed 28,500 visitors from India, a remarkable 1.5-fold increase compared to the same period in 2023. This growth was driven primarily by the introduction of the eVisa system in August 2023, which made travel to Russia for Indian passport holders more accessible and boosted MICE traffic.

Evgeny Kozlov, First Deputy Head of the Office of the Mayor and the Government of Moscow, Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee, said: “While most tourists visit Moscow for cultural, educational, and entertainment purposes, the city has also been focusing on expanding business tourism, which is now a significant contributor to the local economy.  

“By 2030, the number of foreign tourists is expected to reach 6 million, mainly due to travellers from the CIS countries, the Asia-Pacific region, India and the Middle East.”

Attending OTM travel show 

Moscow Tourism is attending the  OTM International Tourism Exhibition in Mumbai from 30 January to 1 February  2025.

Ahead of the exhibition, on 28 January a Moscow Business Mission comprising prominent Moscow tourism representatives and approximately 80 Indian tour operators and industry stakeholders convened in Mumbai, followed by a reception on 29 January, hosted by the Moscow City Tourism Committee, welcomed Indian partners, High ranking officials in attended, including Ivan Fetisov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai, Victor Gorelykh, the Director of the Russian House in Mumbai, and Evgeny Kozlov, Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee.