Demand for tours to Belarus among Russians has recovered to the level of pre-pandemic 2019 and increased by 30-50% compared to last year's sales. This was reported by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).
Russians come on vacation, to rest in a sanatorium, as well as for shopping and treating their teeth.
According to the estimates of the leading tour operators of the Russian Federation, in 2023 the demand for tours to Belarus is on average 30-50% ahead of the sales of the 2022 season. According to the statistics of the National tour operator ALEAN, the number of bookings in Belarusian sanatoriums increased by 120%, in hotels – by 110%, sightseeing tours – by 26%.
The company "Multitour" notes an increase of 20% for individual objects, the tour operator "VEDI GROUP" noticed an increase in bookings of tours by 55-60% compared to 2022. FUN&SUN notes that the number of confirmed travel requests to Belarus has grown 6 times.
According to the experts of the tour operator "Intourist", one of the reasons for this growth is the lack of "affordable offers for sightseeing tours to Europe." Also, the decision to rest is influenced by air traffic: you can fly to Minsk by direct flight from 20 cities of Russia. In 2023, Belarus for the first time entered the TOP-10 most booked destinations for the summer in Intourist.
Participants of the tourist market added that demand for sanatorium holidays is also actively recovering, Russian tourists are already actively booking sanatoriums for the fall. Tour operators also receive requests for tours with visits to farmsteads, outdoor recreation, cycling and hiking routes. In addition, Russians go to Belarus to buy auto parts, lenses and clothes from brands that have left the Russian Federation. Also, the ATOR text notes that, since dental services in the Russian Federation have risen in price by 25-35%, Russians go to Belarus, among other things, to “put fillings”:
“For a part of the Russian audience, Belarus has become a destination where you can buy something that is no longer available in the Russian Federation due to sanctions, or goods that, for the same reasons, will cost less. So tourists are not averse to combining vacations with targeted purchases or receiving services, such as going to the dentist. Mir cards are accepted almost everywhere in Belarus, so there will be no problems with paying for purchases and services.”
The EU supported a complete halt to the visa facilitation agreement for Russians from September 12, 2022. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, some EU countries, on their own initiative, have stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens: the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have joined the restrictions. Denmark and the Netherlands have stopped issuing short-stay visas. Finland has reduced the issuance of tourist visas to Russians. The Norwegian Immigration Department, in turn, stopped providing asylum to Russians, and Switzerland completely suspended the simplified visa regime with the Russian Federation. German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said that it is important not to take away the opportunity to leave the Russian Federation from those who "have the courage to oppose the regime."
