Mechanism for mutual recognition of visas between Belarus, Russia may be launched by late 2024
A mechanism for mutual recognition of visas between Belarus and Russia may be launched by the end of 2024 – as informed by Dmitry Vakhrukov, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia, at the 2nd Russian-Belarusian Tourism Congress in Minsk
As noted by Mr. Vakhrukov, the relations between the two countries have been developing very intensively and fruitfully lately. “Over the past month, a number of events have taken place. On April 3rd, we welcomed the Belarusian delegation on the side-lines of the Russia exhibition in Moscow, and a new regular flight from Brest to Moscow was launched on the same day. At the end of the month, the Minsk-Makhachkala flight will become available. I am glad to note that mutual tourist flows between our countries increased 2-fold by the end of 2023, and I believe this trend will continue," he said.
Mr. Vakhrukov added that a mechanism for mutual recognition of visas is being prepared, and it is expected to come into force by the end of 2024, “This means that our foreign guests will have the opportunity to travel freely within the Union State using a visa from one of our countries. This mechanism will enable tour operators to create routes passing through the territory of Russia and Belarus. It is extremely important to prepare such tourist products by this time, and at the last meeting, Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism Oleg Andreichik and I agreed that we would name them allied or joint.”
Moreover, not only traditional destinations – such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Black Sea resorts – will be included in such routes on the part of Russia: in late March, representatives of the Belarusian business community visited the regions of the North Caucasus to learn more about them and to further be able to work out and test new formats of holidaying on promising routes.
“We are glad that Belarusian tourists are discovering new regions on the map of Russia, and we are ready to show other interesting places where foreign guests rarely get to. Such tourist locations open in the Arctic regions, Siberia, the Far East, and the Volga River basin,” Mr. Vakhrukov said, adding that one of the key conditions for the development of the tourism industry is an open dialogue between state authorities, specialised businesses, the community of tour operators, travel agents and organisations engaged in the tourism sector. “These tasks are set to be implemented within the framework of the business programme of the congress,” the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia stated.
The 2nd Russian-Belarusian Tourism Congress kicked off in Minsk of April 17th, and its holding will be paired with the Recreation- 2024 International Fair of Tourist Services.
