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CHINA’S CITIC VIEWS OPENING MINSK-BEIJING FLIGHT AS PROMISING IDEA

10 December 2008

  The possibility to introduce Minsk-Beijing direct flight was discussed by Minister of Sport and Tourism of Belarus Alexander Grigorov and representatives of the Chinese travel agency CITIC in Minsk on December 9, BelTA has learnt.

“If at least 50 Chinese tourists come to Belarus every week, we can consider opening a direct flight between Beijing and Minsk,” Alexander Grigorov said.

  According to him, the demand for this flight can be checked by bringing Chinese tourists from Moscow first. “At present they can fly from Beijing to Moscow and then take a night train to Minsk,” Alexander Grigorov explained. He presented an impressive set of proposals on the Belarusian-Chinese cooperation in the tourist area.

They include the investment in the construction of tourist complexes and hotels. “There is an abundance of places in Belarus where we can create comfortable conditions for vacationing. Belarus, however, has only 303 hotels, including only two five-star hotels and three four-star ones. We suggest investing in the construction of new tourist objects under the guarantee of the government,” the Minister said.

Alexander Grigorov told the Chinese guests about the favourable geographical location of Belarus and the numerous opportunities for developing different kinds of tourism, including hunting, fishing, and recuperation.

The cooperation in the sports area is deemed very promising, too. Alexander Grigorov invited Chinese athletes to prepare for London 2012 Olympic Games in Belarus, and suggested that the CITIC company takes part in the development of sporting facilities of Belarus.

The CITIC Company which ranks fourth in China among tourist companies, has showed interest in many projects. CITIC has been actively involved in the development of sport facilities. It performed half of the works on the national stadium Bird’s Nest, the main arena of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The corporation has a football team which is currently third in the Chinese national championships.

According to CITIC representatives, the national tourist industry has been rapidly developing. In 1987, there were some ten companies that provided services in this area. Today there are more than 19,000 travel agencies in China. Every year around 30 million Chinese citizens make tourist trips to Europe. And just about 1,000 people visit Belarus.

According to the representatives of the Chinese travel agency, the direct flight Beijing-Minsk could help Belarus attract more tourists. “Some time ago we had such flights due to which around 8,000 citizens of China visited Belarus.”

In turn, Alexander Grigorov proposed the Chinese partners to hold a promotion campaign of Belarus in China. “The Belarusian television tells a lot about China. So, we would like the Chinese people to know more about Belarus. For instance, the Chinese TV audience could watch a film about Belarus. We are ready to give all the necessary video materials and invite Chinese journalists to visit our country,” Alexander Grigorov noted.

BELTA