Moscow : Despite the anti-Russia propaganda, US tourists to Russia increased by 25 per cent in the first nine months of 2017, the chief of Russia’s Tourism Agency said on Thursday.

Russia’s border authorities recorded the increase compared with the same period of 2016, Oleg Safonov, head of Russian Federal Agency for Tourism, told the Izvestia daily in an interview.

“The anti-Russia propaganda only arouses great interest among American citizens for our country,” Xinhua quoted Safonov as saying.

Safonov also explained why the anti-Russia propaganda helps. “American citizens are told various stories about what is going on in Russia, no wonder they want to come and see everything for themselves.”

Safonov said American tourists are not disappointed by what they see in Russia. They see a “modern, peaceful and developed country”, he added.

—IANS