MINSK, 8 April (BelTA) – How Belarus intends to increase the contribution of the tourism sector to the country’s GDP was explained by Director of the National Tourism Agency Kirill Masharsky to reporters on the sidelines of the 4th Belarusian-Russian Tourism Congress and the international tourism forum Travel Hub Commonwealth in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
Since 1 January the National Tourism Agency has been the sole regulator of the tourism industry. “There is a set of tasks. A state program until 2030 has been adopted, which aims to increase the contribution of the economy branch to the GDP to 4.5%. We are now taking stock of tourism infrastructure, looking at tourist flows, trying to understand their scale and identify the top 30 or top 40 most popular attractions. We also observe what is needed to scale up tourist flows to these sites,” noted Kirill Masharsky.
Specialists of the National Tourism Agency are evaluating what foreign guests find interesting. “We work with emotions and impressions. We need to understand what people want, what type of tourism they want, why they choose one type of tourism or another, one hotel or another accommodation facility. First of all, we will spend the first five months on ‘calibrating,’ so to speak, statistical indicators and working in a targeted manner so as not to take unnecessary steps but to be guided solely by facts and figures,” said Kirill Masharsky.
He emphasized that the task is to scale up both domestic and inbound tourism by leveraging accommodation facilities, public catering, and transport services. Tourist preferences in the sector are getting surveyed. Results of the surveys will be analyzed afterwards. Many event-based activities are planned.
“We actively work with young people, drawing on their ideas, and establishing feedback from businesses,” noted Kirill Masharsky.
When asked about the development of camping infrastructure, he said that the relevant plans exist. “We will work on this. We understand that special sites are needed,” added the director of the National Tourism Agency. In particular, during discussions of the tourism industry development program for Korelichi District setting up a camping site outside Mir Castle was suggested.
Another priority area is farm tourism. The National Tourism Agency sees the need for a unified digital platform that would present all information about such services.
“Together with our Russian colleagues we are compiling a collection on industrial tourism and farm stays in order to increase the attractiveness of this product,” said Kirill Masharsky.
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