More than 5 mn tourists visit FIFA World Cup host cities

Moscow, July 5 (IANS) More than five million tourists, including 2.9 million foreigners, have visited the cities hosting the FIFA World Cup matches, head of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency Oleg Safonov said.

"According to preliminary information, the World Cup host cities have received more than 5 million tourists. Moscow saw the heaviest tourist flow of more than 2.7 million, while St. Petersburg received more than 600,000, and Sochi, more than 500,000," the agency head said, reports Tass news agency.

"The growth of tourists visiting the World Cup host cities was from 19 per cent in Moscow, with the average growth of 74 per cent," he added.

There are currently 2.9 million foreign tourists in 11 cities hosting the World Cup matches. This indicator grew by 20 per cent in St. Petersburg and 235 times in Saransk when compared to the same period for June, Safonov noted.

The foreign tourist flow grew 10 times in Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg and 15 times in Volgograd, whereas in the other World Cup host cities it increased 1.5-2 times.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia kicked off on June 14 and is taking place in 11 cities. The final match will be held on July 15 at Luzhniki Stadium here.

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