The football World Cup has helped “destroy stereotypes” about Russia.
This will boost foreign tourism by 15 percent as fans head home and spread (распространить) the word that they had a great time, said Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets.
The month-long tournament, which ends with the final between (между) France and Croatia on Sunday, has so far been without major security incidents. Concerns about racism and hooligan violence that were raised in the run-up have not been borne out (не подтвердились).
“We expect a serious increase in the international influx (наплыв) [of tourists],” Golodets, who was appointed to oversee sport and culture in May, told Reuters in an interview. “We hope that this influx will increase next year by no less than 15 percent, thanks to the policy of openness (открытость) and the recognition (признание) of Russia that occurred during the World Cup.”
Russia has hosted more than 700,000 foreign football fans during the tournament, spread over 11 cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi.
“We’re very pleased about how people have responded to the atmosphere,” Golodets said. “It seems to me that the World Cup has allowed us to destroy (cломать) stereotypes that existed in the world.”
