Relax in a neighbourly way

Mutual tourist flows between Belarus and Russia are growing: what is in the top demand

The current situation in the world contributes to closer co-operation between Belarus and Russia in various fields. Tourism is one of them, the most important component of union integration, a key element of cultural co-operation and public diplomacy. After all, people are looking for closer and more accessible vacation options amid logistical restrictions and rising travel costs. However, they open a lot of new nearby. What are the prospects for the growth of mutual tourist flow, and what needs to be done for this?

Selyava Lake in the Minsk Region

Welcome guests with wide open doors

Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister Oleg Andreichik notes a trend that is pleasant for the regulator, “The number of foreign tourists visiting Belarus is approaching the level of 2019. In 2022, despite transport restrictions, not only Russians came to us — they were the vast majority, but also representatives of 73 countries. Indeed, objectively speaking, logistics affects tourist flows, especially with EU countries. But at the expense of Russia, we get an influx. The export of tourism services amounted to $180 million, 97 percent of which is income from Russian guests.”
Perhaps, they say in the Sports and Tourism Ministry, there will be more. After all, our country is constantly developing relations in the field of tourism with Russian regions. Thus, we have developed a strategy for the development of travel for citizens, signed agreements on interaction between business circles and government bodies over the past three years, with more than 90 percent of the subjects of the eastern neighbour. The work continues today. Logistics, lack of language barriers and difficulties in calculations play into the hands.
The Russian tourist appreciates our beauties and historical sites. The launch of flights to Belarus from Kaluga, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod and other cities of Russia contributes to the fact that tourist flows between our countries are constantly growing. 

At the Energetik sanatorium, Grodno Region

Guests have already appreciated it

But most of all — sanatorium treatment, health improvement and rehabilitation. It was this type of recreation that brought about half of the export of tourist services last year. The Deputy Minister cites the following data: in total, 934,000 people visited our sanatoriums in 2022. Of these, 149,000 are foreigners, 138,000 of which are Russians. An expert in the field of tourism, Chairman of the Board of the Republican Union of Tourism Industry Philip Huly explains the interest in the following way, “In Russia, this service is conceptually lacking in the volume and quality that have been preserved and developed in our country. I believe that this direction should be improved further: in general, the population on the planet is aging. In addition, middle-aged people are increasingly beginning to deal with their health issues. So, not only in the Union State, but also in our newly created region, in the future we will be leaders in sanatorium and resort treatment — we need to quickly resolve emerging issues, for example, staffing. Sightseeing tours in bus tours and independent travel are in second place in popularity among Russians. Weekend tours are in third place, we saw this on the example of Minsk. The task is to attract guests to the capital in the off-season, to develop infrastructure for receiving tourists in regional centres. So, in Mogilev there is a modern hotel with a spa complex — and tourism is developing there.” Ecotourism is on the rise. True, here, according to Philip Huly, it is worth pushing: to work out priority and promising places for the interested departments. The local population should be more actively involved in the process through training and funding. For example, as guides or to provide rental services for various equipment. Agritourism, industrial and gastronomic tourism are the next in popularity. Patriotic and religious tourism is in trend. By the way, we have identified more than 20 types of tourism in total, and for each of them there was an increase in foreign interest last year. 
“The farther a person is from large settlements, the more interested he or she is in sights and historical sites. Citizens are looking for ways to recuperate and relax in nature. Residents of megacities like weekend tours,” Philip Huly summarises. 
At the same time, the regulator will pay close attention to the issues of mandatory classification and certification of accommodation places in the near future: our neighbours are urgently asking for this, both to unify legislation and to clarify the expectations of tourists. After all, according to statistics, 2.7 million tourists stayed in our hotels in 2022, 48 percent of them were foreign guests. 

Mir Castle is a masterpiece of Belarusian defence architecture of the 16th century

Go and see

But what is interesting for Belarusians in Russia? And how many such travellers are? It is difficult to answer the second question, Oleg Andreichik admits: there is no border with Russia, and it is difficult to fully calculate the movements, the figures are approximate. At the same time, mutual tourist flows are growing before our eyes — this cannot be taken away. According to representatives of our tourist market, both Belarusian in Russia and Russians, we had about half a million tourists in 2022. Trips to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Karelia are in the top of the interest of our citizens. Group tours, for example, along the Yenisei River, Altai, northern Russia are shaped for lovers of the exotic, Philip Huly lists, “We expect that Belarusians will be interested in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk this year — these are good places to start traveling around the regions. Flight programmes to Perm, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod are also sure to captivate. It must be admitted that Belarusians have little idea of how vast and diverse Russia is, how different its regions are in economic and cultural terms. And we are looking for what to offer, so that our tourists would be affordable in terms of price, transport and not overlap with our vacation options.”
By the way, the solution of logistical issues, the expansion of transport links are driving force for the development of tourism. Experts agree that Russia with its low-cost airlines will be a key player in this process. At the same time, interest is growing in neighbouring regions of Belarus and neighbouring regions: Smolensk, Kaluga, Bryansk, Pskov Regions. However, as well as their inhabitants want to rest with us. Plus, this gives impetus to the development of border tourist routes. 

At the Rest-2023 international exhibition-fair of travel services

You could be convinced of the demand for rest from each other at the 25th Rest-2023 international exhibition-fair of travel services, which was held last week in Minsk. The first Russian-Belarusian tourist congress took place on its fields. Interest from the regions of the neighbouring country to the forums is unprecedentedly huge. Moreover, the guests not only talk about their products and show them to our tourists and business partners, but also solve pressing issues, remove the remaining barriers in the dialogue with the Belarusian side, and jointly look for solutions that suit everyone. So that, ultimately, mutual tourist flows grow even faster, and travellers easily and affordably discover new places for themselves.

By Maria Druk
Photos by Andrei Bibikov, Aleksandr Gorbash,  Aleksandr Kulevsky, Aleksey Stolyarov, Aleksey Vyazmitinov