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Sochi mayor expects up to 1 mln tourists for 2018 FIFA World Cup

More than 1,500 personnel have undergone training, especially to hone their English speaking skills and study hospitality programs, the mayor said

© Egor Aleev/TASS

SOCHI, May 28. /TASS/. Sochi's hotels and health resorts expect to host nearly 3.5 mln tourists during the high season, and up to 1 mln guests will visit the southern Russian city during the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup, Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov told TASS on Monday.

"Sochi's health resorts will host 3.5 mln holidaymakers this summer. For the World Cup alone, Sochi is gearing up to host some 1 mln fans and participants," Pakhomov said.

Read also

Everything to be done for 2018 FIFA World Cup guests ‘to feel like home in Russia’ — Putin

The hotels and health resorts have been preparing to receive guests for the World Cup. More than 1,500 personnel have undergone training, especially to hone their English speaking skills and study hospitality programs, the mayor said.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in less than a month with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Russia selected 11 cities to host the matches of the 2018 World Cup between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums, and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital.

Sochi’s Fisht stadium will host group stage matches on June 15, 18, 23 and 26. The teams of Portugal and Spain, Belgium and Panama, Germany and Sweden, Australia and Peru will play in the Black Sea resort city.

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