The strategy for tourism development in Belarus until 2035 will take into account the lessons of the pandemic
"The order to develop a strategy was given by the head of state in 2018. The main message is that the potential of the country's tourism industry is not fully realized, " said Igor Petrishenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the MEKS. - Serious research work has been carried out. The group that worked on it had an ambitious task: based on the analysis of international experience, to give an objective assessment of the development of the tourism industry in our country. It was important to define tasks, set priorities, and calculate indicators that will significantly increase the contribution of tourism to the economy of Belarus."
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the adoption of the strategy should become the basis for the development of the industry in the coming years and long term. He suggested that the project should be considered in terms of its feasibility and feasibility during and after the pandemic.
Introducing the project, Deputy Minister of sports and tourism Mikhail Portnoy noted that a temporary research team at the Belarusian state University of Economics worked on the creation of the strategy. Among the authors-4 doctors of science, 6 candidates of science, practicing representatives of the tourist business. In addition, experts from the world tourism organization (UNWTO) gave an expert assessment of the draft strategy.
The Deputy Minister stressed that the document is based on three important components: the current state of Affairs in the industry, its development prospects and ways to achieve the goals.
Before the pandemic, the positive dynamics of the industry's development was observed in all indicators. For example, the export of tourist services in 2019 amounted to $265.4 million, the growth rate compared to 2018 - 115.1%. Last year, almost 5 million foreigners visited the country. There is also a positive trend towards market diversification. Thus, in 2019, the share of tourism services exports to non-CIS countries in the total volume amounted to 37.1%.
As for the plans for the next 15 years, one of the main tasks is to strengthen the role of the national tourism industry in the world tourism market and increase the share of the Republic of Belarus in world tourism revenues from 0.04% in 2016 to 0.1% in 2035.
A lot of work is planned to improve the competitiveness of Belarus in the world tourism market and become one of the 50 countries with the highest index of competitiveness in the field of travel and tourism (Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Index).
According to Mikhail Portnoy, a good Foundation has already been laid for the further development of the tourism industry. This includes the liberalization of the visa regime, simplification of the registration procedure for foreign citizens, the development of tourist infrastructure, improving the quality of service, and the emergence and development of a domestic secure online booking system.
"Of course, 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic have made their own adjustments to the work of the tourism industry, which was one of the most affected. It is still difficult to predict the scale of the consequences that have yet to be overcome. However, the chosen course for the development of domestic tourism was correct. Foreign countries are following the same path now, " Mikhail Portnoy said.
In his opinion, to achieve economic growth, it is necessary to develop tourism infrastructure in the regions, further implement IT technologies and, as a result, increase awareness of existing tourist products, opportunities for organized safe recreation; improve the quality of tourist services and create a positive image of domestic tourist products.
The implementation of the strategy will lead to the creation of about 90 thousand additional jobs in the tourism sector, increasing investment in the tourism industry, and increasing the number of tourists and tourists.
Minister of sport and tourism Sergey Kovalchuk noted that the main goal of the strategy is to maximize the tourism potential of Belarus in the domestic and foreign markets. "The task should be solved in a comprehensive manner, in close cooperation with government agencies, private business and public associations. Everyone is interested in the successful development and then implementation of the strategy, because tourism is not only the engine of the economy, a source of export earnings, but also an important part of people's lives," said Sergey Kovalchuk.
Summing up the meeting, Igor Petrishenko noted that the main task is to adapt to the current difficult situation and get out of the crisis updated - with new proposals, programs and approaches.
