Union Parliamentarians Discussed Ways of Developing Tourism in the Union State

16th meeting of the standing seminar under Belarusian-Russian Parliamentary Assembly for the Union State formation devoted to the “Development of Tourist Industry in the Union State: normative legal, socio-economic, cultural and educational foundations” has taken place in Apsheron region of Krasnodar Territory.

16^th meeting of the standing seminar under Belarusian-Russian Parliamentary Assembly for the Union State formation devoted to the “Development of Tourist Industry in the Union State: normative legal, socio-economic, cultural and educational foundations” has taken place in Apsheron region of Krasnodar Territory.

The event was attended by Deputy Head of Social Policy and Information Support Department of the Union State Standing Committee Olga Vinogradova, Head of Tourism Department of Belarus’ Ministry of Sports and Tourism Alexander Yankovenko, Vice-President of the Russian Union of Tourist Industry Yuri Barzykin, adviser to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation Nikolai Abrosimov, deputies of the Union State Parliamentary Assembly and State Duma of Russia, representatives of Krasnodar Territory and the Adyghe Republic authorities as well as Belarus’ region authorities.

The participants of the meeting have managed to cover all the items on the agenda. They have come to the conclusion that the tourism industry of the Union State does have some problems to solve which necessitates some concrete steps. In particular, the purpose of developing tourism in the Union State is, on the one hand, to establish an up-to-date tourist market that could satisfy the large-scale demand of Russian, Belarusian and foreign citizens for tourist services and, on the other hand, to create additional employment and to increase population’s income level. The participants have more than once put forward a suggestion to recognize tourist trips of Belarusian citizens to Russia and Russian citizens to Belarus as inbound tourism of the Union State. It was also suggested that Belarusian-Russian Agreement on mutual recognition of visas for foreign citizens which is currently being worked out could on the whole favour inbound tourism on the territory of the Union State.

This event has proved one more time that the meetings of the standing seminar under Belarusian-Russian Parliamentary Assembly for the Union State formation are becoming, so to say, a platform for working out optimal and significant solutions aimed at Union formation.