Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 25 May (BelTA) – Belarus hopes for a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists coming to Belarus after mutual abolition of visas, Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said in an interview to Xinhua News Agency of China, BelTA has learned.

“Despite the efforts to ease visa procedures, the need to apply for a visa remains one of the obstacles towards a tangible increase in tourist flows. In this regard, within the framework of the Belarus Tourism Year in China, the two countries are working on the agreement to allow mutual visa-free travels for ordinary citizens. Belarus will be one of Europe’s first countries to sign such an agreement with the People’s Republic of China,” Andrei Kobyakov noted.

He believes that this agreement will open up new opportunities for cooperation not only in tourism, but also in trade, culture, education and other areas.

In 2017, over 3,200 Chinese travelers bought package tours to Belarus, a nearly two-time increase from a year earlier. The Belarusian head of government is convinced that this figure should be bigger. At the same time, China was ahead of Germany and Israel in terms of the number of package tours to Belarus. The majority of travelers come from the countries adjoining Belarus.