Belarus' export earnings generated by international tourism are expected to make up about $250 million by the end of 2019, Deputy Director of the Tourism Department at the Sports and Tourism Ministry Vitaly Gritsevich said at the BelTA press center on 24 December.

“The export of tourism services in January-October amounted to $218.8 million, up nearly 15%. We expect this figure to increase to $250 million by the year-end. We have everything in place for that. Our target for this year was $240 million,” he said.

According to the State Border Committee, about 4.5 million people entered Belarus in January-November. “I think we will hit the 5-million target by the end of the year. Taking into account people coming to Belarus through the Belarus-Russia border, this figure stood at 11.5 million last year. The statistics provided by the State Border Committee suggest that this figure will increase in 2019,” the representative of the Sports and Tourism Ministry said.

Speaking about the visa-free regime, Vitaly Gritsevich noted that the Sports and Tourism Ministry is pushing for extending the visa waiver to all international checkpoints, including checkpoints on the ground.