National Tourism Agency Head: extended visa-free entry to Belarus for Western neighbours is reasonable decision
The extension of the visa-free entry to Belarus for Western neighbours is a reasonable decision made in modern difficult times – as noted by Dmitry Morozov, the Director of the National Tourism Agency
On April 15th, 2022, a visa-free entry procedure was introduced for citizens of Lithuania and Latvia, as well as for persons with the status of a non-citizen of Latvia – following a decision of the President. On July 1st, 2022, the same regime came into force for Poles. This mechanism is valid for a calendar year, and it has been extended more than once: i.e. December 31st, 2024 now acts as the end date. According to the State Border Committee, as of January 30th, more than 816.2 thousand foreigners from the nearest Western countries have arrived to Belarus since the procedure came into force.
As noted by Mr. Morozov, visa-free travel is the best way to communicate with each other. Moreover, Belarus demonstrates its hospitality through the openness of its borders.
“In this way, we show that it is really safe in our country, and that its tourism infrastructure never stops to develop. For example, the cities located next to our Western neighbours are being transformed: these are primarily Brest and Grodno. The same is actually relevant for many smaller yet attractive settlements of the republic, which actively welcome tourists at a high level. The areas farer from the border with the West also please with their transformations. After all, tourists from Poland and the Baltic States travel not only to the neighbouring regions, but also further," the specialist stressed, adding that tourism is a good tool for communication between the peoples of neighbouring countries.
