HCM CITY — Many Vietnamese football fans are spending up to VNĐ100 million (US$4,400) for tours to Russia to watch the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018.

As of the end of April, tours for the event were nearly all booked at tourism agencies. The tours sold more quickly than those during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, mostly because flight schedules to Russia are more convenient, Đặng Thanh Tùng, director of Neworld Travel, was quoted as saying by Lao Động newspaper.

Nguyễn Thanh Trang, an executive at Việt Nam Travel, said the tours had attracted a large number of travellers partly because the Russian Embassy in Việt Nam had eased visa formalities. A tour costs VNĐ70 million (US$3,100) on average for an eight-day trip, excluding football tickets.

A sales agent for Vietravel, a local ticket distributor for FIFA, said the tour price varies between VNĐ74 million and VNĐ80 million. VYC Travel is selling a Việt Nam-Russia tour for VNĐ68 million- VNĐ80 million, while Saigontourist is offering tours of VNĐ79.9 million. These are still available.

FIFA has authorised several agencies as ticket retailers in Southeast Asia. Buyers can avoid fake tickets by purchasing at these agencies. They will receive a verified code called FanID, which is considered equivalent to a visa for Russia. They can also use public vehicles for free during the event by showing their FanID. — VNS