MINSK, 13 September (BelTA) – Belarus will offer tours tailored for tourists from Austria, Belarus' Sports and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk said as he met with Austrian Ambassador to Belarus Aloisia Worgetter, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Sports and Tourism Ministry.
The tours will be planned by the Tourism Department of the Sports and Tourism Ministry and the National Tourism Agency of Belarus in association with travel companies.
According to Ambassador Aloisia Worgetter, Austria and Belarus should step up cooperation in tourism. Launching the 30-day visa-free travel program in Belarus was a positive step but she believes that Belarus tourism industry needs more exposure among Austrian tourists.
The ambassador noted that she enjoys exploring Belarus and has discovered a lot of fascinating places here. She named several sites that could attract Austrians: Nesvizh, Mir, Khatyn, Brest, the site of Napoleon's crossing of the Berezina River, Minsk, in particular, Komarovsky Rynok marketplace, Kommunarka confectionery, and so on.
Sergei Kovalchuk told the ambassador about measures Belarus has been taking to promote various sports and make recuperation and physical activities more affordable.
“In recent years, Belarus has learned from experience of other countries and hosted several large-scale international sports competitions which were highly praised by its participants and sports fans. These events include, for example, the 2nd European Games and the Europe v USA Match. We have acquired professional skills and knowledge of organizing large-scale sports events and can now share experience in this area,” Sergei Kovalchuk noted.
The Sports and Tourism Ministry also sees prospects for exchanging visits of sports delegations. “We would like to set up education and training camps at Belarusian sports facilities on a regular basis. We have created wonderful conditions for such activities. In turn, Belarus is interested in improving the quality of training of Belarusian winter sports athletes bearing in mind Austrian ski areas,” Sergei Kovalchuk said.
Aloisia Worgetter pointed out that Belarus-Austria ties in sport develop well, but the legal framework is still insufficient. She proposed preparing and signing an appropriate memorandum.
Moreover, the Austrian embassy proposes holding a festival celebrating winter sports, which will feature renowned Austrian athletes, in the Silichi Ski Resort in January-February 2020.
