5 Jul 2018 19:53

About 3 million foreign tourists visit Russian cities hosting FIFA World Cup in June

MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - The number of foreign tourists surged from 14% to 18% in 2018, Rosturizm head Oleg Safonov told reporters on Thursday.

About 2.9 million foreign tourists, including fans, visited Russian cities hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he said.

"The number of foreign tourists grew from 14% to 18% thanks to the World Cup, but even if it is 10%, it is already good. A large amount of work has been done in the World Cup hosting cities from the point of view of creating comfortable conditions for tourists. The significance of the championship for us is enormous," he said.

The overall number of tourists, who visited the World Cup hosting cities, amounted to five million, he said earlier.