House of Representatives has upheld ratification of amendment to World Tourism Organization Statutes

The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus has upheld the ratification of the amendment to the Statutes of the World Tourism Organization. Sports and Tourism Minister of Belarus Alexander Shamko told the MPs that Belarus’ participation in the World Tourism Organization demonstrates the country’s openness to the global community. The membership in this organization will help promote tourism and take advantage of information opportunities of this organization.
The minister informed that about 150,000 agro-tourists have already visited Belarus. “But we go beyond agro-tourism. There are other types of tourism,” Alexander Shamko said. He added that Belarus’ participation in the UNWTO will be highly useful for the country. Talking about the contribution of tourism to the economy, the minister noted that inbound tourism statistics does not take into consideration all people who come to Belarus from the territory of Russia. He added that one tourist spends about $100 in Belarus. He agreed with the MPs that this statistics is not precise, but the Sports and Tourism Ministry tries to avoid overestimating tourists’ contribution to the country’s economy.