Russian flag carrier Aeroflot has laid on additional flights to service demand on city routes during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Travel and tourism revenues in Russian capital Moscow are forecast to grow by 6.6% to 2026, according to World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) data in association with Oxford Economics.

The host of the FIFA 2018 World Cup (14 June – 15 July), which has welcomed approximately one million football fans to matches taking place across eleven cities in the country, is tipped to increase its international tourism spend by 7% this year, with spending by foreigners set to rise by 9.6% per year on average over the next decade.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC said: “Travel & Tourism creates jobs, drives economic growth and helps build better societies. This is particularly the case in Russia, the 16^th largest tourism economy in the world, with Moscow generating more than a quarter of Russia’s tourism revenue. Hosting this World Cup has given Russia the opportunity to showcase cities across the country and bring together millions of travellers, while contributing to the economic growth of the sector and creating jobs.”

“Worldwide, 2017 was one of the strongest years of Travel & Tourism GDP growth in a decade. Our sector now supports one in ten jobs on the planet and contributes 10% of global GDP. Over the past ten years, one in five of all jobs created across the world has been in the sector and, with the right support from Governments, nearly 100 million new jobs could be created over the decade ahead.”

STRONG 2017

International arrivals forward bookings between 4 June and 15 July leaped by 50% year-on-year, says ForwardKeys, as the nation continues to rebound in the global travel markets – sentiments that are being relayed to TRBusiness by the industry on a frequent basis.

WTTC says Russia’s travel and tourism sector jumped by 3.2% in 2017 – outpacing the 2.2% growth experienced in the country’s wider economy.

Travel and tourism revenues account for 4.8% of Russia’s GDP, equal to $76bn, and support over 3.3 million jobs.

Between January to April this year, Russian airlines handled around 30.5m passengers, an increase of 11.9% year-on-year, according to figures from Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviation.