MINSK, 10 October (BelTA) - Russians make the basis of the tourist flow to Belarus today, and the two countries are discussing ways to increase joint routes, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Belarus Boris Gryzlov said in his welcoming speech at the 2nd International Congress of Tour Operators in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
“Domestic tourism in the Belarus-Russia Union State promotes the growth of the economy of our states through retail trade in consumer services,” Boris Gryzlov said in his address.
In 2023, over 175,000 Russian tourists visited Belarusian health resorts and other facilities as part of organized tours. An estimated 11,000 people vacationed in local farmsteads. In total, over 4.8 million Russians visited Belarus during the year, which is about 85% of the total number of inbound tourists. “Despite the visa waiver introduced by the country for Europeans, it is the Russians who are most frequent visitors to Belarus,” the ambassador said.
Belarusian tourists made 111,000 organized trips to Russia last year. These figures do not take into account tourists traveling on their own.
According to Boris Gryzlov, an important factor in boosting cooperation in tourism is the expansion of regular air services as well as railroad routes between the cities of Russia and Belarus. The parties are now considering the possibility of launching flights to Russia from regional centers of Belarus, for example from Brest to Moscow.
In November 2024, in accordance with the agreements, an additional pair of electric trains Lastochka will be introduced on the route between Moscow and Minsk on weekends and holidays.
“A large-scale and highly demanded project to build a high-speed railway between Moscow and Minsk deserves special attention. The project has been supported by the presidents of our countries. The initial stage envisages the laying of new tracks and connect major Russian cities. After that the relevant infrastructure will be developed through Smolensk to the capital of Belarus,” Boris Gryzlov said.
According to him, the move will multiply the mutual passenger traffic. The travel time for passengers will be at least halved to make up about three hours. This is faster than air travel, if we take into account the waiting time at the airport and the time spent traveling to and from the airport.
