MINSK, 7 April (BelTA) – Tourism in Belarus has huge potential. Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova made the statement at a meeting with participants of the international tourism forum Travel Hub Commonwealth, BelTA has learned.
Natalya Kochanova recalled that tourism was approved as one of the key priorities for Belarus’ development at the 7th Belarusian People’s Congress. “Holding an event such as the international forum Travel Hub Commonwealth is a landmark occasion for any country. In 2025 Belarus’ export of tourism services grew by 46%. The potential in this area is enormous. We had previously focused more on cooperation in industry and agriculture, but we now understand that we are also interesting to each other from the point of view of tourism,” said the chairwoman of the Council of the Republic.
The speaker expressed confidence that important decisions aimed at promoting historical, event-based, religious, industrial, and medical tourism would be made at the international tourism forum.
Following her meeting with Natalya Kochanova, Deputy Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Inna Svyatenko noted that the conversation had been productive and that matters related to activities within the framework of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and joint projects had been discussed. “The focus was on patriotic tourism. In this area our countries have great prospects. We honor the memory of the Great Patriotic War [of 1941-1945], the memory of the Soviet people’s victory over fascism, and we understand how important it is for the next generation to also know this truth and carry it forward. It is very important for us that tourism, which is now actively developing in our countries, also develops in this direction. Today we also spoke about joint projects that we have had for many years, for instance, the Memory Train,” noted Inna Svyatenko.
Head of the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of Russia Yelena Malysheva noted that the demand from representatives of all CIS countries to visit historical sites is very high. “And today, during the roundtable session ‘Patriotic tourism and cooperation of CIS countries in preserving memory and educating future generations’, a very constructive proposal was made by a representative of Kyrgyzstan that it is necessary to create a route of historical memory of the Commonwealth countries,” she emphasized.
Secretary General and Head of the Secretariat of the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states Dmitry Kobitsky added that all of the Commonwealth space is a location for patriotic tourism. “Wherever we go, wherever we are, there is an opportunity to remember something and talk about something,” he pointed out.
BelTA reported previously that the Big Tourism Week kicked off in Minsk on 7 April. Its main events will be the 4th Belarusian-Russian Tourism Congress, the international forum Travel Hub Commonwealth, and the 28th international expo and fair of tourism services Leisure 2026. The Tourism Congress and the Travel Hub Commonwealth forum will bring together representatives of 22 regions of Russia as well as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other CIS countries.
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