COMMENT: Tourist opportunities in Minsk

MINSK can please its guests and residents of the capital with many beautiful places, sights, and interesting events. Director of the Minsk Tourist Information Center Aleksey Rusakevich spoke in more detail about the tourist potential of the capital at a press conference "Where and how to relax in the summer: current destinations of the tourist season" BelTA.

"Well-developed transport communications make it possible to involve in the formation of a city tourist product a complex of historical and cultural attractions located both on the territory of the city and in its environs. These are the Zaslavl historical and cultural museum-reserve, the Nesvizh palace and park complex with diverse architecture and the largest landscape park, the museums of folk architecture and life "Strochitsy" and "Dudutki", the museum of Belarusian folk art in the sports complex "Raubichi", etc.)," ​​said Aleksey Rusakevich.

The main railway and highway lines passing through the capital of Belarus connect the republic with neighboring states. The Minsk National Airport contributes to the development of air traffic and increasing its accessibility as one of the most important factors in the development of tourism.

Modern business centers with all kinds of necessary equipment have been built in the city, and conditions for convenient interaction have been created. Modern congress halls operate at hotels.

"The number of collective accommodation facilities in 2021 amounted to 75 units (of which hotels and similar accommodation facilities make up 69 units, and sanatorium-resort, health-improving organizations and other specialized accommodation facilities - 6 units) with a one-time capacity of about 12 thousand people. Individual accommodation facilities - more than 1 thousand with a one-time capacity of more than 3.5 thousand people," the director said.

Hotels are located not only in the center, but also at the entrances to the city near the Moscow Ring Road. The modern equipment of the hotels allows holding any major business events (conferences, forums, exhibitions, seminars, presentations, corporate events).

At the moment, Minsk is ready to host any major events.

Event and cultural tourism in Minsk has a huge potential. The city has 17 theaters, 30 museums, more than 10 galleries. The Belarusian State Circus surprises and pleases the guests of the city with its performances. There are two water parks. The most gambling guests of the capital can have fun in 32 casinos and in a huge number of clubs with slot machines. Nightlife is also quite diverse, there are about 70 nightclubs.

More than 200 events of various levels take place in Minsk every year. The most significant regular events are the summer musical and tourist season, the Minsk Starazhytny International Festival of Historical Reenactment, the Listapad Minsk International Film Festival, the Yuri Bashmet International Festival, the Minsk International Circus Arts Festival, the Night of Museums and others.

The summer musical tourist season has already started on May 21. Until mid-September, performances by youth and children's groups, dance programs and master classes in various areas, open air film screenings will be organized in the Upper Town.

The list of events for the season includes traditional projects: "Classics at the Town Hall", the festival-fair "Vyasnovy Bouquet", holidays of national cultures. During the season, the site also organizes the project "Theater Evenings at the City Hall". It will bring together the leading city theaters, which will show performances for adults and children.

For more than six years, a large city picnic called Vulitsa Ezha has been held in Minsk. “This is not just a festival, but the largest gastronomic community in Belarus. The best street food projects and top chefs gather here. Guests will be able to learn about local gastronomic trends,” he noted. from 25 to 28 August in the park named after Yanka Kupala".

A relatively new event is the Science Festival, which was first organized in 2018. "This is a popular science open-air event that not only adults but also children will like to visit. Here, a balance is maintained between entertainment and intellectual leisure," Aleksey Rusakevich noted.

The popularity of cultural and educational tourism and the demand for it are constantly growing. In Minsk, there are 655 immovable material historical and cultural values ​​included in the state list of historical and cultural values ​​of Belarus. The most visited sightseeing objects of the capital are: the historical buildings of the center (Upper Town and Trinity Suburb), the architectural complex in the style of the Stalinist Empire style on Independence Avenue, the Central Children's Park named after Gorky, the Park of Culture and Recreation named after. Chelyuskintsev, Loshitsky Park, Botanical Garden, Slepyansk Water System, National Art Museum, Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater, Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre, State Museum of Folk Architecture and Life, etc.

To date, the sightseeing opportunities of Minsk are represented by more than 100 tourist routes.

In the capital, a boat trip on Komsomolskoye Lake has been developed. The opening of the route took place on June 22, 2021. "Last year's summer season, the excursion was popular among Minsk residents and guests of the capital. I am sure that this summer will not be an exception," the director added.

To preserve the historical memory and civic-patriotic education of young people, a tourist walking route "Dear Memory" was created (Island of Courage and Sorrow - Embankment of Internationalist Warriors - Victory Park - Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War). "This year, this route will be extended to the Stalag-352 facility, and we will also include Victory Square here. We will adapt this route for a bicycle tour," said Aleksey Rusakevich.

This type of tourism in the capital is represented by tourist organizations that offer visits to cafes and restaurants of Belarusian cuisine, excursions around Minsk with a tasting or lunch in the national style, excursions to breweries and confectionery factories.

There are more than 5,000 catering facilities in the city, about 300 catering facilities belonging to different price segments and various formats specialize in national cuisine.

“In order to increase interest in our cuisine, work is underway at the national level, which should result in a clear idea of ​​Belarusian cuisine on the part of tourists visiting Minsk,” said Aleksey Rusakevich.

The development of sports tourism in Minsk is due to the activities of sports organizations, federations, clubs in various sports. The largest facilities for physical culture and sports in the capital are Minsk-Arena, Chizhovka-Arena, Aqua-Minsk (Lebyazhy water park, Mandarin multifunctional complex), the Solnechnaya Dolina ski training center, the Sports Palace, sports and recreation complex "Olympic", etc.

Fans of outdoor activities are especially popular with cycling tourism, which has become widely developed in the capital. "For the development of cycling, a strategic plan has been developed and approved to ensure the development of cycling in Minsk until 2025," said Aleksey Rusakevich.

Minsk is actively developing a system of automatic rental of bicycles and electric scooters with a total number of more than 3 thousand bicycles, 300 electric bicycles and 1.2 thousand electric scooters.

"In order to popularize and promote cycling in 2022, it is planned to hold a mass sports event called Pershy Rovar in every district of Minsk. The program includes a mass race, figured cycling, cycling," the HEAD of the institution said.

The cycling infrastructure of the capital is represented by a 27 km main cycle path, two walking bike paths in the park of the 900th anniversary of Minsk and Loshitsky park, as well as combined pedestrian and bicycle paths with a length of 196 km. The city is actively developing a citywide bicycle rental system (more than 50 rental points operate, where about 1.2 thousand bicycles are available).

For fans of skating, there is a unique opportunity to do it at any time of the year. "A skating rink made of synthetic ice has opened at the entrance to the Dynamo stadium. The skating surface is assembled from panels of a high-molecular polymer material that almost completely imitates real ice. Gliding performance is comparable to the speed of movement on ice - only 5% lower. Artificial ice skating rink can work both in frost and in heat - from minus 50 to plus 50 degrees. The site will be open all year round, including summer," Aleksey Rusakevich informed.

For the summer season of 2022, a cycle of kayaking along the Svisloch River within the city has been prepared. "The duration of the rafting is about 2 hours. Anyone can become a member of an exciting water trip both on weekends and on weekdays," the director emphasized.

According to him, the presence of a developed infrastructure for sports, the implementation of measures to develop urban sports infrastructure for city residents, the availability of information support for each sports facility determine the prospects for the development of sports tourism in Minsk.

The attractiveness of Minsk for tourists as a medical tourism destination is due to the high qualification of Belarusian doctors, the provision of medical centers with high-quality equipment, advanced medical technologies, a good price-quality ratio, as well as a credit of trust, which is formed by the positive experience of foreign citizens who received treatment in the capital of Belarus.

There are 116 healthcare institutions in the city, 27 of them are state-owned, stationary. "Guests of our city can combine recreation with receiving highly qualified care in the best medical centers and clinics, undergo rehabilitation and HEALTH improvement courses, and their number is growing every year. This is facilitated by the good equipment of medical institutions, advanced medical technologies, relatively low cost of services, and the temperate climate of Belarus , which does not require an acclimatization period.The qualification of doctors allows us to provide at a high level numerous diagnostic and treatment services in the field of cardiology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology.Particularly in demand are organ transplants and plastic surgery services.Dental and cosmetology services, SPA are in demand among foreign tourists. -procedures.

The main volume of EXPORT of medical services to foreign citizens is formed by the services of transplantology (44%), hematology (17%), dentistry (4%) and ophthalmology (2%).

"The integration of the medical and tourism potential of the city, combined with the continuous introduction of the latest and innovative methods of treatment, examination and rehabilitation, provides for the formation of a medical cluster in the long term as a priority development area for medical tourism," he said.

Minsk has a fairly large potential for the development of industrial tourism. The objects of industrial tourism in the capital are enterprises that offer excursions: the Kommunarka and Slodych confectionery factories, the Zorka jewelry factory, the Minsk Tractor Plant, the Minsk Soft Drinks Plant, the Alivaria and Krinitsa brewing companies, the Minsk Refrigerator Plant " Atlant", "Minskkhlebprom", etc.

Conditions have been created in Minsk for holding various political, economic and cultural forums. The leading and largest specialized exhibition enterprise is the Republican Unitary Enterprise National Exhibition Center BelExpo. Among other organizers of exhibition events, Expoforum, MinskExpo, and the National Library stand out.

In the hotels of the capital, such as "Victoria", "Minotel", "Belarus", "Europe", etc., all conditions for holding business events have been created - from a small business meeting and negotiations to international meetings.

BELTA.