England might not have made it to the final, which saw France and Croatia square up and France victorious, but the real winner of the 2018 FIFA World Cup has been Russia. The nation has seen a major boost in tourism interest, from the UK in particular, during the monumental tournament, reports CheapOair.co.uk.

During the first week of the football tournament, CheapOair.co.uk saw a major uplift in its flight searches to the host nation as figures came in 232% higher than the average weekly search volume. This momentum continued the following week, 17-23 June 2018, as the average weekly number of searches Brits made had peaked at 227%.

Similarly, throughout the pre-event build-up the flight search windows between 11-17 March and 18-24 March 2018 saw a significant increase, as potential bookers were searching 182% and 160% higher than the average weekly search volume.

This goes to show that the football fixtures were not only a cause for celebration amongst football fans but also for the Russian economy, as businesses in its numerous host cities for the games have benefited from an influx in British tourists.

(Source: CheapOair)