Opinions & Interviews

BREST, 27 July (BelTA) – Offering an integrated package of services will make a region more attractive for tourists, Irena Dzmitrewska, an international expert of the EU/UNDP project “Support to Local Development in the Republic of Belarus”, told BelTA.

“First of all, you need to focus on the good things that a region already has and make it the starting point for the further development. An integrated approach will be most efficient in this case. The idea is to combine several well developed sectors such as agriculture, local attractions and wonderful nature into one package and offer it to tourists,” Irena Dzmitrewska said.

Irena Dzmitrewska already visited all regions of Belarus and said she saw a serious potential for tourism development in many regions of the country.

Brest hosted a training workshop on the EU/UNDP project “Support to Local Development in the Republic of Belarus” which was launched in December 2015 and which will finish on 1 July 2018. It is based on Area-Based Development (ABD) aimed at involving local people in the development of the territories they live.

Five districts were selected from every region at the first phase of the project. In Brest Oblast these are Bereza, Lyakhovichi, Brest, Kamenets and Pruzhany Districts. They became pilot sites for the application of the ABD approach. Each of these districts is forming citizen action groups who will develop, with the assistance of the authorities and not-for-profit organizations, the priorities for the district. The best initiatives will receive grants.