Spending by international visitors to Russia is expected to grow by seven per cent this year, according to research by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Data produced by WTTC, in conjunction with Oxford Economics, has shown tourism revenues in Moscow are set to grow at an increasing pace of 6.6 per cent per year in the years to 2026, with tourism spending purely by foreigners set to rise by 9.6 per cent per year on average over the next decade.

With less than a week to go before the FIFA World Cup Final, Russia has played host to an estimated one million fans attending matches in eleven cities across the country.

Over a period of June 4th-July 15th, data produced by ForwardKeys has shown a 50.5 per cent year-on-year increase of forward bookings for international arrivals in Russia.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC president, said “Travel creates jobs, drives economic growth and helps build better societies.

“This is particularly the case in Russia, the 16th 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.”

She added: “Worldwide, 2017 was one of the strongest years of tourism GDP growth in a decade.

“Our sector now supports one in ten jobs on the planet and contributes ten per cent 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.”