BREST, 12 December (BelTA) – A memorandum of long-term cooperation was signed by the Brest Oblast Executive Committee and the Chamber of Tourism of Poland on 12 December. Polish tour operators are currently on a fam tour in Brest Oblast, BelTA has learned.
“The memorandum is a letter of intent. This fam tour is designed to help us learn more about each other and lay groundwork for signing a document featuring specific projects. Promotion of the tourism industry is one of strategic tasks for Brest Oblast. We have many things to show to tourists. One of the barriers impeding tourism growth is a low level of exposure abroad,” Brest Oblast Deputy Governor Gennady Borisyuk said.
In order to make Brest Oblast more visible in other countries, the region arranges fam tours and takes part in specialized forums and exhibitions. These efforts bear fruit, as more tourists are coming to the region. Indeed, since the start of the year Brest Oblast welcomed over 30,000 visa-free tourists (vs 18,300 tourists throughout the entire 2018), 70% of them are Polish nationals. “Quite a number of Poles living close to the Belarusian border opt for weekend getaways in Brest. Naturally, we want to see more tourists here, but we are already moving in the right direction. The memorandum lays out further measures to scale up cooperation, which will benefit both countries,” the deputy governor said.
Chairperson of the National Council of the Chamber of Tourism of Poland Marek Ciechanowski said that Polish tourists coming to Brest Oblast are mostly interested in cultural heritage objects, including castles, palaces and other heritage sites. Belarusian sanatoriums are getting increasingly popular with Poles, too. “I think it makes sense to keep promoting recreation tourism, like kayaking and canoeing and cycling. Agro-tourism and the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park are also great draws for Polish tourists. Promotion of these types of tourism will encourage more Poles to come to the visa-free zone in order to discover Belarus,” he said.
Representatives of the Polish tourism industry are visiting Brest Oblast on 11-13 December. They are here to discuss cooperation prospects and study the tourism potential of the region.
