Moscow after WC-2018: the Russian capital presents its new tourism capabilities on BITM-2018 in Beijing

Representatives of the Moscow Ministry of Sport and Tourism share the experience of holding the FIFA World Cup 2018 and present tourism capabilities of the Russian capital at the international exhibition BEIJING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MART, which takes place on 5^th-7^th of September 2018 in Beijing.

According to preliminary estimates, 3.3 million people visited Moscow during the FIFA World Cup 2018. The number of tourists from foreign countries far abroad was 1 million 332 thousand people. In comparison with the relevant period of last year this number increased by 53%. The leaders in the number of tourists are China (187,2 thousand people) and USA (164,4 thousand people) despite the fact that the national teams of these countries hadn’t been qualified for the WC. German fans (79 thousand people) won the third place, the fourth and the fifth places held the Netherlands(54,8 thousand people) and France (39,3 thousand people). The new stadiums were built, the hotels were classified, the airports were refurbished, the high-speed Internet were extended, public transport were modernized in the 13 largest cities to be prepared for the WC. Furthermore, the significant number of services for tourists (including people with disabilities) have been created.

More than 546 thousand people visited the Luzhniki stadium(the main arena of the WC) and approximately 221 thousand guests of the capital visited the Spartak stadium.

1525 qualified hotels with a total capacity of 75,7 thousand rooms or 209,3 thousand places received fans and tourists. The Moscow Sport and Tourism Department didn’t get any negative feedback on accommodation.

After the reconstruction for the WC, the Lizhniki stadium allows to host about 5 million sport fans per year. Not only football matches but also shows, concerts and festivals will take place at this stadium.

Hosting the FIFA World Cup 2018 allowed to increase the number of incoming tourists to Moscow. According to predictions, the total number of tourists in the Russian capital increased by 10% in 2018.

The tourist flow increased additionally due to the opportunity of entering Russia without a visa by the end of 2018 for FAN ID holders.

Please visit the stand of the Moscow Sport and Tourism Department at the BITM exhibition 2018 and take part in the press conference on the 6^th of September at 13:30 in Radisson Blu.

Contact [email protected], Alexandra for more information about participation of the Moscow Sport and Tourism Department in the BITM 2018