Union tourist information centers to open in Belarus and Russia
It is planned to open tourist information centers (TIC) of the Union State in Smolensk and one of the cities of Belarus. This was announced to journalists by Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism of Belarus Oleg Andreychik at the second meeting of the working group on tourism within the framework of the Union State, BelTA has learned.
The first step will be the creation of such a center in Smolensk. The prospects for further development of this area are being worked out. “Today we will discuss the issue of creating such a center in the Republic of Belarus in order to promote a tourism product on a parity basis, the tourism potential that exists on the territory of the two countries,” Oleg Andreychik said.
In which of the cities such an object may appear is still being discussed.
In turn, Dmitry Vakhrukov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, said that the TIC project in Smolensk is already at the final stage. “There is already a project to create a TIC. Now we are defending the project in the commission of the Union State in order to finance the construction of the center from these sources. In general, everything was agreed upon. There are still details that will not take long to finalize, and we will start creating an iconic object,” Dmitry Vakhrukov said.
The countries are connected by more than 20 allied tourist routes. It is planned to develop clusters and strengthen contacts between regions. The dialogue has intensified at all levels. There is an increase in the tourist flow.
The meeting of the working group is attended by representatives of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Belarus, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, tourism business, transport structures, regions of the two countries, etc. On the agenda are the prospects for cooperation in the field of tourism between Belarus and Russia, the transport component of tourism, business assistance, investment issues, state support for tourism, the creation of a tourist product within the framework of the Union State, the formation and promotion of cross-border tourist routes, etc.
The first meeting of the working group took place on April 3, 2024 in Moscow at the site of the international exhibition and forum “Russia”.