BREST, 10 November (BelTA) - Since the beginning of this year, Belarus has hosted more than 4 million Russian tourists, Belarusian Deputy Sport and Tourism Minister Oleg Andreichik said at a joint meeting of the collegiums of the Belarusian Economy Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia in Brest,
BelTA has learned.
"The tourist exchange between our countries has been growing. Our tourists eagerly visit the regions of Russia, and citizens of the Russian Federation also like to travel in Belarus. According to preliminary data, more than 4 million Russian tourists have visited Belarus this year alone. The tourist flow of Belarusians to the Russian Federation has increased almost two and a half times," the deputy minister said.
At the same time, he noted that promotion of the tourism potential of the Union State should be more systematized. Taking into account the fact that the agreement on mutual recognition of visas enters into force in 2024 it is important to draw up a joint industry marketing policy of the Union State. All major domestic tourist routes in Belarus and Russia can, in principle, become cross-border routes.
In addition, the Sport and Tourism Ministry proposed to create tourism clusters, recreation zones in border areas with the use of preferences for business and to hold the first forum in Belarus in 2024 for of tourism administrations and tourism entities of the border regions of Belarus and Russia.
Governor of Russia’s Smolensk Oblast Vasily Anokhin, who took part in the meeting, made a proposal to create a tourist information center of the Union State. The governor noted a multiple increase in the tourist flow through Smolensk Oblast. "In order to give a new impetus to the tourism industry, to increase its appeal we need a special center that would combine three areas - culture, tourism and education," the governor said.
Following the meeting, the parties signed the outcome documents, including an agreement on cooperation in tourism and a roadmap for the development of tourism for 2023-2024 between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Sport and Tourism Ministry of and the Economy Ministry of Belarus.
On 10 November Brest played host to the joint meeting of the collegiums of the Belarusian Economy Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. The delegations were led by Belarusian Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov and Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maksim Reshetnikov. The meetingwas attended by Chairman of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee Yuri Shuleiko, Belarusian Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk, State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev.