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Some 19.5 million tourists are expected to visit Moscow in 2018, one million of them coming during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the head of the city's tourism department said.

According to Konstantin Goryainov, 17.5 million tourists visited Moscow in 2016, a 0.5 million increase from the previous year. The official said the flow is likely to increase in the next two years  because of the FIFA Confederations Cup and World Cup.

“In 2017, 18.3 million tourists will visit Moscow and in 2018 — 19.5 million,” he added.

Goryainov noted that one million tourists will come to the Russian capital visit during the 2018 FIFA World Cup alone.

According to Euromonitor’s latest available data, Hong Kong was the world’s most visited city in 2014 with 27 million arrivals.

Moscow will host 12 matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, including the opening and the final.