Press releases

MINSK, 5 April (BelTA) – The inflow of Russian tourists to Belarus is being restored, Belarus’ Deputy Sport and Tourism Minister Mikhail Portnoy told reporters on 5 April, BelTA has learned.

“The inflow of Russian tourists to Belarus fell last year. Russia accounted for about 70% of all tourists in 2014, this figure fell to 64% in 2015,” Mikhail Portnoy said. The deputy minister explains it by the lower purchasing power of Russians.

At the same time, the Q1 statistics shows that at present the inflow of Russian tourists is on the rise. “We offer a better price-quality ratio, the recreation in Belarus is safe,“ the representative of the Sport and Tourism Ministry said.

In his words, Belarus will try to popularize its military and patriotic tourism, recreation and recuperation services in Russia. “We are using only 15-20% of the tourism potential, therefore it is needed to overcome barriers, establishes direct dialogue between the Russian and Belarusian representatives of the tourism industry. For example, our recuperation facilities are competitive on the Russian market. Some of them operate at a 100% capacity, while others operate at a 40-50% capacity. Our health resorts have swimming pools and wonderful spa centers. Potential tourists should be informed about it,” Mikhail Portnoy said.