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73% of World Cup guests would like to visit Russia again — poll

When asked about what impressed them the most in Russia, 91% of foreigners polled praised Russian hospitality

© Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Almost three quarters of foreign guests, who attended the 2018 FIFA World Cup, have said they would like to visit Russia again, spokesperson for the youth wing of the United Russia party "The Young Guard of Russia" Anna Rogacheva informed journalists on Monday.

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According to her, volunteers have been conducting a poll for the whole month of the tournament. "We have polled 5,367 foreign guests in all 11 World Cup host cities. The average age of the pollsters was 33 years, the average length of stay - 12 days," Rogacheva explained.

"73% of those surveyed said that they would like to visit Russia again, and 5% stated that they would stay in Russia longer to continue their vacation," the spokesperson said.

Stereotypes and impressions

According to her, 87% of guests have never visited Russia before, and 64% of newcomers have had negative stereotypes about Russia. "In particular, they said that Russia has bad weather, unfriendly people, and that Russian people are intolerant in general. 88% ended up disagreeing with the stereotypes," Rogacheva stressed.

When asked about what impressed them the most in Russia, 91% of foreigners polled praised Russian hospitality, 87% of pollsters noted the beauty of Russian women. 86% admitted they felt safe in Russia, and 83% of foreign fans talked about good infrastructure and new stadiums.

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"87% of people surveyed noted the cultural heritage of the country, 78% were impressed by good food, 87% praised the diversity of cities (particularly, guests of Kazan), 63% praised the unexpected warm weather," Rogacheva added.

The foreigners were asked to rate the World Cup in Russia on a scale from one to ten. "53% of pollsters rated it a ten out of ten, 23% - nine out of ten, 15% - eight out of ten, 6% - seven out of ten," she pointed out.

"All in all, we can come to a conclusion that the World Cup in Russia helped disprove stereotypes, the foreigners themselves say it," Rogacheva concluded.

About the World Cup

The 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from June 14 to July 15. France defeated Croatia with a 4-2 score win during the final game, which took place on July 15 at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. The World Cup was held in 11 Russian cities.

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