MOSCOW, June 11 – RIA Dagestan. Emin Merdanov, Acting Dagestani Minister of Tourism and Folk-Art Crafts and Kirill Masharsky, head of the Belarusian National Tourism Agency, conducted negotiations on the sidelines of the "Travel!" International Tourism Forum. The officials explored avenues for expanding bilateral tourism activity, techniques for promoting their regions as attractive destinations and instruments for fostering tour operator alliances through collaborative industry platforms and targeted business missions.
The parties pointed out the growing interest of Belarusian travelers in Dagestan and noted that the positive trend in tourist flows confirmed strong market demand and significant potential for joint projects. The discussion placed particular emphasis on expanding health resort, wellness and medical tourism. To this end, the officials prioritized implementing collaborative restorative and rehabilitation programs, along with a mutual exchange of expertise to enhance tourism infrastructure and service quality.
Emin Merdanov emphasized that there was a steady growth in the tourist flow between Dagestan and Belarus. "We see this as the basis for a long-term partnership. Particular attention is being given to the development of health resort and wellness tourism. Even with the existing infrastructure running at high occupancy, the region still has considerable room for further growth. Our goal is to strengthen this sector by drawing in investment, building up accommodation capacity and carrying out joint tourism projects to deliver a modern and competitive tourism product" the department head stated.
Dagestan's investment prospects were discussed as a separate point on the agenda. The Belarusian representatives were introduced to the potential of launching projects in the "Caspian Coastal Cluster" Special Economic Zone, a key area for building up tourism facilities, the hotel sector and related services. At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to sustain dialogue between their respective agencies, organize reciprocal visits and enhance contacts among tourism industry players from Russia and Belarus.