SOCHI, November 21. /TASS /. Russia hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the introduction of its corresponding Fan ID gave the nation’s tourism industry a much-needed shot in the arm. Both events helped Russia chalk up a 19% rise in the tourist flow into the country in July-September, said, Oleg Safonov, head of Russian Federal Tourism Agency at the 3rd All-Russian Congress of Tour Operators and Travel Agents in Russia on Wednesday.

"What is remarkable is that the number of foreign visitors to Russia in July-September exceeded the figure for July-September 2017 by more than 19%. The publicity that Russia received worldwide thanks to hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as the decision by the Russian President to extend the visa-free entry into the country with the Fan-ID ‘passport’ spurred on the tourist influx," he explained.

According to Safonov, in general, the current year has been a big success for Russian companies in the tourism sector, since domestic travel inside the country has already risen by a quarter, along with inbound tourism by 8%.

"The first preliminary figures, in our opinion, are very good. Domestic travel has grown by 25%, outbound tourism has grown by 10%, inbound tourism has increased by 8% in connection with the World Cup," said Safonov. Additionally, he praised this year in general for being "very good for the tourism industry".

Tourist traffic since the beginning of 2018 to the Crimea has seen an increase, where the agency expects to see a new record high beating the entire post-Soviet period. "The development of transport links with the peninsula, the opening of the passenger bridge across the Kerch Strait, the introduction of a new passenger terminal at Simferopol’s airport, together with measures taken to bolster the region’s tourist attractiveness, have led to a surge in demand for holidays in Crimea and a 30-percent increase in tourist traffic. Since the beginning of the year, the peninsula has received 6.3 million people, which is a record. By the end of the year, 6.5 million tourists are expected to have visited Crimea, which will be a maximum for the entire post-Soviet period," Safonov noted.