Press releases

MINSK, 14 November (BelTA) – By the start of the new tourist season, the Minsk Card will incorporate over 1,000 museums, galleries, retail outlets, rentals, and hotels of Belarus, Director of Mingorspravka Boris Vasiliev said at the BelTA press center on 14 November.

The Minsk Card project has been implemented by Mingorspravka since January 2018 with support of the Sports and Tourism Ministry, Culture Ministry and the Minsk Tourist Center in line with the tourism promotion program Hospitable Belarus for 2016-2020. About 6,000 cards have been issued, of them over 700 have been sold. Boris Vasiliev believes that these are pretty good results. “For example, the Saint Petersburg Card was launched eight years ago. During the third year some 3,000 cards were purchased with the number of tourists visiting Saint Petersburg standing at 7 million,” he noted.

The Minsk Card is mostly popular with tourists from Russia and the European Union. However, more visitors from China, Japan and the United States have purchased it recently. The project is gaining traction. At the start of the season, it featured 74 facilities, including about 25 museums; now their number exceeds 200. It is noteworthy that the number of museums and galleries rose from 55 to over 90,” Boris Vasiliev said.

During the first season, Mingorspravka and a group of experts analyzed area-specific tourist attractions and the needs of visitors travelling on their own. The results of the study suggest that the project is instrumental for promoting domestic interregional tourism. Taking this into consideration, the project was included into the program of events of the Year of Native Land in 2018-2020. Interregional formats of the cards for Belarusian residents are also in the pipeline. “We are focused on unassisted travelers. We want to offer them discounts and bonuses, as well as an opportunity to learn more about places of interest in all the regions of the country. The card will be valid for one year. It will be perfect for those who want to rediscover Belarus,” Boris Vasiliev said.

Five types of the Minsk Card are available: VIP, Premium, Luxe, Business and Economy. The prices range from Br5.5 to Br69. Foreigners mostly opt for the VIP type that offers unlimited number of trips on public transport and free entrance to nine museums and the zoo. Belarusians usually go for cheaper cards. The cards differ in terms of their validity period – there are cards valid for 24 hours, two days, three days, five days, seven days, ten days and 12 months. They also offer free or discounted access to museums; bonuses for other facilities remain in place for three years.