Tourist interest in Belarus expected to increase significantly in near future

10 января 2017

By Olga Anishchenko: The Ministry of Sports and Tourism expects the flow of foreign visitors to Belarus to increase by at least 20 % as a result of the introduction of a five-day visa-free entry for the citizens of 80 countries.

The Bialowieza Forest National Park became the first place in Belarus’ territory to be visited visa-free two years ago. Last summer, a visa-free regime was introduced for visiting the Augustow Canal and its vicinity. However, there were some attempts to facilitate entry into the country, for example, during the Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk, when Belarus was visited by over 30,000 hockey fans, not including those arriving via Russia, compared to a little over 20,000 Europeans crossing Belarus’ border annually.

The five-day visa-free entry to Belarus’ territory will be available to the citizens of 39 European states, including all EU countries, as well as to the USA, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and other countries, Belarus’ strategic partners, countries without migration problems and the states that have previously unilaterally lifted visas for Belarusian citizens. The visa-free entry will be possible only when arriving and departing via Minsk National Airport.

An unlimited number of visits to Belarus during the year are allowed provided that all established rules are followed. According to law enforcement officials, there will be no migration problems as control mechanisms have been worked out in detail.

Tourist interest in Belarus is not very high yet, with a little more than 270,000 tourists visiting the country in 2015, the vast majority coming from the CIS countries, primarily from Russia. The key measures to support tourism activity are enhancing service quality and developing infrastructure, the country’s capital being top priority.