Tourism of Turkmenistan counts on activation of mutual tourist flow with Belarus

The introduction of the e-visa, which tourists receive on the basis of an invitation, by Turkmenistan from October 1, will increase the flow of tourists between Belarus and this Central Asian country. This opinion was expressed by a specialist in promoting one of the tourist companies of Turkmenistan Ella Azizov to the press service of the Republican Union of Tourist Organizations (RSTO), writes sb.by.

Ella Azizova noted that since October, the invitation for a visa is issued by tourist companies of Turkmenistan on the basis of the tourist program:

- That is, the tour operator from Turkmenistan acts as the host and takes on all the formalities. We are talking about a package tour with the services of a guide-interpreter, hotel accommodation and transfer. The tourist needs only a package of documents for a visa, which he provides to his tour operator. Don't come to the embassy. The visa is issued for the duration of the tour. An urgent visa can be obtained in 1-3 days. The usual visa is within a week.

The expert noted that currently Europe and the United States are among the leaders in inbound tourism in Turkmenistan. More and more tourists from Russia are seen here.

“Belarusians are very comfortable to visit Turkmenistan: locals speak Russian fluently, you can freely travel around the country, in cities – there are no problems with movement and communication,” added Ella Azizova.

According to the expert, Belarus also counts on tourists from Turkmenistan:

Tourists from Turkmenistan are very interested in Belarus. First of all, we need to simplify logistics. We need more direct flights. Let me remind you that now flights between Belarus and Turkmenistan are carried out from Minsk not to Ashgabat airport, but to Turkmenbashi airport, which is located on the Caspian Sea, in the Balkan velayat. Turkmen tourists are interested in Belarus excursion tourism, Minsk, Grodno, as well as sanatorium rest. In addition, a large number of students from Turkmenistan study in Belarus. Naturally, their relatives would also like to visit Belarus. Previously, before the covid, we regularly participated in Belarusian tourist exhibitions. Our company worked in both directions – we received tourists from Belarus and sent our citizens to Belarus. Covid interrupted those flows. We hope that cooperation will resume soon. The National Agency for Tourism told how the tourism infrastructure of sanatoriums of the Narochan Territory will change