The growing number of inbound travel agencies is the best evidence of the success of visa-free regime in Grodno, Belaursian Sport and Tourism Minister Alexander Shamko told journalists during his working visit to Grodno on 22 March.
“It is already obvious that the introduction of the visa-free zone in Grodno and its surroundings is a success. First of all, the numbers of foreign tourists have increased. Over a year and a half ago, the Chairman of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee, his deputies, and I, discussed the issue here, in Grodno, and agreed that this idea needed promotion. Today we can see the essence of it, the positive results. Moreover, it is still a low season so far. I believe that summer events will attract even more tourists,” Alexander Shamko noted. He stressed that the number of tourism market players also indicates the level of interest. About two years ago there were only about ten inbound travel agencies in Grodno. Today there are over 70 of them.
“Grodno has a good tourism infrastructure which continues to develop. It is an invaluable experience not only for the region but for the whole country,” Alexander Shamko stressed. He noted that there is a need to enhance the interregional cooperation, find more common grounds with neighboring countries, and launch more attractive events.
“We will analyze the situation at the end of the year. If needed, we will initiate changes to the legislation to expand the possibilities and attract as many tourists as possible. By the end of the year, we will be able to discuss the possible expansion of the visa-free zone and inclusion of new border checkpoints in it,” Alexander Shamko noted. He stressed that the analysis will be based not only on the official statistics but on the opinions of tourists and tourism experts.
The visa-free entry to the Augustow Canal and surrounding areas, including Grodno and its surroundings, came into force on 26 October 2016. For a period of up to five days, the guests are allowed to stay on the territory of the park and the nearby settlements of Gozha, Koptevka, Odelsk, Podlabenye, and Sopockin rural councils of Grodno District and the city of Grodno. Over 6,000 tourists have visited Grodno and its surroundings visa-free since 26 October 2016. The majority of them were from Lithuania. Tours to Grodno are also popular with the Poles, Latvians and Germans. All in all, citizens of 32 countries have already visited Grodno visa-free.