NEW DELHI: Though India is not among the countries competing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, an unprecedented number of Indians are visiting Russia this summer to witness the football extravaganza, a big part of which is also due to the Fan ID cards being issued to World Cup ticket holders, which allow for visas on arrival.
The prospect of not having to go through the tedious visa-procurement process has sparked unprecedented demand for Russian tour packages, Cutting Edge Events, FIFA’s official sales agency in India for the 2018 World Cup, asserts.
Data from the company also shows that India is among the top 10 countries in terms of number of match tickets sold.
“US tops the list with 16,642 tickets bought by fans, followed by countries like Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Germany, China, Australia and India. At the time of filing this report, 4,509 Indian fans are traveling to Russia to watch the biggest soccer tournament in the world,” Mayank Khandwala, president of Cutting Edge, told Russian news agency Sputnik.
Khandwala says that fans are spending anywhere between $3,000 and $30,000 on their trip, and the traveling benefits announced by the Russian authorities may explain the surge in the number of people willing to spend money.
“All ticket holders need to hold a FAN ID together with a valid match ticket in order to enter the stadiums hosting matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The FAN ID provides visa-free entry to Russia for foreign citizens who have purchased 2018 FIFA World Cup match tickets. Such fans will be able to enter and remain in the country during the period that started ten days before the first match and ends ten days after the last match,” Khandwala added.
Khandwala’s assertion is backed by numbers provided by online travel agency Yatra.com, which has reported an increase of over 60% in bookings made to Russia, compared to the same period last year,
“We have witnessed an increase of over 60% in bookings made to Russia, compared to the same period last year,” Sharat Dhall, (B2C) COO of Yatra.com told Sputnik.
Data shared by the travel search engine ixigo has revealed that 48% of Indians traveling during the tournament are planning to travel alone, followed by 16% with their families and 12% as couples.
