Within the framework of the meeting, the delegations, headed by Israel Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and his Belarus counterpart Sport and Tourism Minister Oleg Kachan, will discuss ways to promote tourism between the two countries. Members of the Tourism Ministry’s professional staff will present various subjects to the Belarusian delegation, including marketing activities, rural tourism, infrastructure development and others.

The delegation, which arrived in Israel Sunday, will conduct meetings with representatives of the Sport, Tourism and Foreign Ministries during the course of the next few days, as well as study days and professional tours around the country.

The tourism agreement between Israel and Belarus is designed to increase tourism traffic between the two countries, while increasing joint activities among tour operators, improving contacts with existing airlines and establishing contacts with others in order to remove existing obstacles and increase flight capacity.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov: “In the next few years, the Tourism Ministry will strengthen its activities with the main source countries for incoming tourism to Israel, while increasing its activities in additional countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. These activities will concentrate on removing obstacles, strengthening ties and implementing targeted marketing activities in order to realize the tourism potential from these countries.”

On the east, Belarus borders with Russia and on the south with Ukraine. About 70% of its residents are Christians and the remainder members of other religions. The languages spoken are Russian and Belarusian. Belarus, which was formerly part of the Soviet Union, became independent on the break-up of the Soviet Union. In 2009, about 13,000 tourists visited Israel from Belarus.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 27th,  in the office of the Tourism Minister.

(Tourism Ministry)