World Cup has changed the international tourist image of Russia
Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), is confident that the incoming tourist flow to Russia by the end of 2018 may increase by 5-10% due to the extension of “visa-free” for fans.
The expert believes that the new tourist experience that hundreds of thousands of fans have acquired in Russia and the “word of mouth effect” could positively influence the image of Russia as a tourist destination.
About 700,000 fans from other countries visited Russia, and they highly appreciated the comfort of the urban environment, the hospitality of Russians, and the local cuisine. Some stereotypes about Russia have dispelled.
ATOR believes that this will affect inbound tourism to Russia. The growth of foreign tourist traffic in 2019 is projected to be about 20%.
According to the results of polls published in the French media, 87% of the French guests of the World Cup say they intend to visit Russia again.
To consolidate the current trend of growth of foreign tourist flow to Russia, the tourist business is waiting for the simplification of the visa regime.
As for the impact of the 2018 World Cup on the incoming tourist flow in 2018, we should take into account the initiative of the President to provide foreign holders of the FAN ID of the 2018 World Cup with the possibility of multiple visa-free entry into Russia. The bill is now being considered by the State Duma.
According to Maya Lomidze, the overall effect of the event and the mentioned initiative will increase the foreign tourist flow to Russia from 5 to 10% in 2018.
The initiative to extend the visa-free regime will attract football fans from Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
According to ATOR experts, a large increase in visits to Russia by citizens of Latin American countries (they amounted to 35% of the foreign audience at the 2018 World Cup) will not happen due to expensive tickets and a long flight.
The regions of Russia have gained valuable experience in servicing foreigners during the Championship, and many regions are developing it. For example, Mordovia has prepared a program of work with the tourism industry following the results of the World Cup.
M. Lomidze notes that foreign fans in the cities of sports with great desire attended excursions. For example, in Mordovia, the branded tourist route “Call of Toramy” was in demand, tested by the expert group of the Committee for Import Substitution in Tourism under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
Maya Lomidze emphasizes that the effect of the World Cup for domestic tourism will be greater than for inbound, because “many Russian citizens have actually rediscovered their country and its regions.” She believes that the growth of sightseeing tourist flow after the World Cup, the industry will be able to observe already during the holidays in autumn.
The analytical agency CBRE published data that during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, $1,387 was spent per visitor to the stadium. Capital expenditure on sports facilities only. If you take infrastructure costs into account, the cost will reach $ 4,700 per person.
Costs per visitor to the stadium were comparable during the World Cup in Brazil, and for the organizers of the Japanese and South Korean world Cup, these costs were higher than Russian.
According to information: atorus