There is a 50.5 percent increase in visitors for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia, it showed a surge even from the non-qualifying countries like the Hong Kong.
US, China, Hong Kong, Israel, India, UAE, Paraguay, Canada, Turkey and South Africa are among the non-qualifying countries revealed a great footfall.
Brazil, Spain, Argentina, South Korea, Mexico, UK, Germany, Australia, Egypt and Peru are the qualified countries having greatest increase in visitors.
The outbound bookings from Russia are 12.4% behind the same period last year as many Russians prefer staying home for the tournament instead of their usual holiday plans.
The current upsurge is basically seen in the opening matches but till now there is a limited advancement in the booking post the group stages of the tournament.
After the outcome of the group stages gets clear there will b more possibility of further increased in bookings for the latest knockout rounds.
Forwardkeys analysis of data revealed that the visitors real interest is in football more than Russia and the World Cup ticket holders need to obtain a Fan ID that will grant them visa-free entry into Russia starting from June 4 to July 15 continuing till their stay in July 25.
The booking for overnight stays went down to normal after the finals and the mini tourism boom will be benefiting the major hub airports as more than 40 per cent of the visitors will be arriving for the World Cup through indirect flights.
So far Dubai has the greatest number of passengers, its forward booking was up by 202% , followed by Paris,Frankfurt, Amsterdam , Istanbul, Helinski, Munich and Warsaw.
London Heathrow was ahead by 236% and Rome was up by 325 %.
Tags: fifa world cup, hong kong, london heathrow, Russia
