About 120 Belarusian industrial enterprises ready to welcome tourists

The figure was voiced by Yekaterina Goncharenok, the Deputy Director of the Tourism Department at Belarus’ Ministry of Sports and Tourism

As noted by the official, industrial tourism has been developing in the republic since Soviet times. “Belarus has managed to maintain production and develop new enterprises that are interesting not only from the point of view of the economy, but also for tourists. At present, guests are welcomed at about 120 Belarusian enterprises, and tourist flows differ: the companies operating in mechanical engineering, food and light industry attract the major attention,” Ms. Goncharenok said.

Some enterprises are ready to welcome large groups: i.e. the Belarusian Automobile Works was visited by 51.5 thousand tourists last year, the Minsk Tractor Works – by almost 20 thousand, and Kommunarka – by over 25,000.

“In general, we estimate the flow of tourists to the enterprises developing industrial tourism in the range of about 250 thousand people in 2023. Moreover, each of them saw an increase in the number of guests,” Ms. Goncharenok noted, emphasising that additional offers during promotional tours are of particular interest to tourists: i.e. to drive in a BelAZ truck cabin, to go down to the bottom of the Mikashevichi granite quarry, or to participate in the assembly of a tractor. In addition, enterprises conduct various interactive activities for visitors – such as board games, quests, tastings, master classes, and so on.

“In Belarus, industrial tourism rather acts as a tool to promote our brands and build trust in our products. At the same time, we understand that not all enterprises will be of interest to foreigners, who primarily wish to get acquainted with the ones that glorify Belarus all over the world. As a rule, toruism agencies promote such places, offering them as part of business travel packages,” Ms. Goncharenok added.