Opinions & Interviews

GOMEL, 11 October (BelTA) – The number of UK tourists in Belarus has increased thanks to the five-day visa free program, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Belarus Fionna Gibb told BelTA.

Compared to the previous year, the number of UK tourists who visited Belarus have increased thanks to the launch of five-day visa free travel, Ambassador Fionna Gibb said.

She noted that Belarus has a high tourism potential. According to the diplomat, foreign tourists may be interested to see historical landmarks and natural sights. “I visited Mir, Nesvizh and Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. These are amazing, interesting places everyone should visit. However, I think that Belarus is a country not many people know about, and we need to tell more about it, the Ambassador added.

Ambassador Fionna Gibb is visiting Gomel Oblast as part of the two-day information tour around Polesie. Partaking in the trip are also Fionna Gibbs’ mother, Nigel Roberts, a popular writer and author of the English-language Belarus travel guide, representatives of the consulates, foreign establishments, travel companies, mass media and potential investors. All in all, the group includes about 20 representatives of the UK, Belgium, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine and Croatia. The program of the route includes the tour across Gomel, Mozyr, the Pripyatsky National Park and Turov.

The trip is aimed at developing tourism in the south-eastern region, diversifying the export of tourism services and improving the image of Gomel Oblast in the international tourism community. It is held as part of the state program Hospitable Belarus for 2016-2020 and has been organized by the Sports and Tourism Department of the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee.