The always-bustling Russian capital is an upbeat urban city, now submerged in a sea of Turkish history, culture, art and cuisine.

With 2019 marked down on calendars as Turkey-Russia Mutual Culture and Tourism Year, the Turkish Festival on full display in Moscow is aimed at increasing the number of Russian tourists travelling to Turkey and vice versa.

The festival is being supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry and coordinated by the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB) and Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD).

In a statement, TÜROFED Chairman Osman Ayık said that the third edition of the festival this year has attracted a great deal of attention.

Remarking that the number of visitors at the festival is increasing every year, Ayık noted that they have reached significant audience on the second day of the festival. "We will probably see over 100,000 visitors at the end of the festival which shows that the Russians continue to take greater interest in Turkey. We can increase the number of Russian visitors in our country by holding such events not only in Moscow, but also in other important cities of Russia. In this respect, the festival makes significant contributions," he added.

Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators Association (AKTOB) Chairman Erkan Yağcı noted that the festival lends impetus to the promotion of the market. According to Yağcı, although the intensity of Antalya is felt clearly, other regions and different products are also included in the festival. "This shows how Turkey is a rich tourism country. In the festival, we see that we have a variety of tourism to increase the number of Russian tourists up to 6 million," he said.