In 2019 the export of medical spa and recuperation services in Belarus went up 11.5% over 2018, Director of the National Center for Recuperation and Health Resort Treatment Gennady Bolbatovsky told the media on 4 March, BelTA has learned.

In his words, Belarusian spa and recuperation services have earned a name for themselves on the international market. Due to this, revenues from providing such services grow every year.

“In 2019, revenues from services provided by the national health resorts to foreign citizens increased by 11.5% compared to 2018 and amounted to about Br216 million. The number of foreigners, recuperating in Belarus, increased by 10,700 people,” said Gennady Bolbatovsky.

The demand for medical spas and retreats is on the rise, including on the part of foreign nationals. Of 495,000 free sale vouchers in 2019, a total of 242,500 were purchased by foreigners. For comparison, in 2006 the number of foreigners that recuperated in Belarus in 2006 totaled 17,000.

The geography of countries from which tourists come is constantly expanding. Russians, however, still account for over 80%. People from more than 50 countries come to Belarusian health resorts. There is a growing demand both from traditional customers from the neighboring countries and also representatives of the USA, Israel, China, and the UK. Gennady Bolbatovsky stressed that this year the center plans to detail the analysis of the geography of holidaymakers, as the data of the National Statistics Committee do not provide exact differentiation.

“As for the health resorts within the visa-free zone of Grodno Oblast and Brest Oblast (there are ten of them there), we see an increase in revenues from the export of services. It is two times as many in Grodno Oblast, for example. There is interest from the closest western neighbors. I think this trend will continue, taking into account the extended period of visa-free stay and the increased number of available border checkpoints,” Gennady Bolbatovsky added.