Member of the Presidium of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST), head Svoy group of companies At the Tourism Industry Professionals Forum, Sergei Voitovich discussed the distribution of organized tourism for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
According to him, Organized family fans ("mom, dad, child") will account for less than 20%.
The bulk of the crowd will be tourists following their home country's team. These fans will account for approximately 40%. Many football fans are expected to come from Latin America.
Another group of fans are mice tourists. According to Sergey Voytovich, many large foreign corporations have begun considering Russia as a mice destination because of the World Cup.
The expert believes that to increase the number of organized fans, authorities should more actively promote this issue in foreign markets and support tour operators.
"Organized tourist groups certainly have a number of advantages. They're easier to control because they have professional support. Consequently, security will be higher. If Moscow authorities, through the Territorial Authority, promote travel to Russia and encourage tour operators to participate in exhibitions and road shows, the number of organized tourists will increase," the expert emphasized.
According to preliminary data, about a million foreign guests will attend the 2018 World Cup.
Source: trn-news.ru