What will be the brand of Polotsk?

International experts from Greece, Italy, and Latvia visited the oldest city in our country as part of the implementation of a new European Union project "Support for Sustainable Tourism Development in Belarus," one of the partners of which is the Polotsk District Executive Committee.

To participate in the project, as explained by Natalia Sinitsa, chief specialist of the Department of Education, Sports, and Tourism of the District Executive Committee, four pilot territories have been identified where tourism development is intended to be a priority. In our region, these are Polotsk and Polotsk District, as well as Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Mstislavshchina, and Narochansky Krai. The total amount of international technical assistance will be 1.6 million euros, of which the Polotsk portion is 325 thousand euros. The funds are planned to be directed, first and foremost, towards the implementation of marketing activities, the development and promotion of a strategy that envisues the introduction of advanced European practices.

To outline the plan for upcoming actions, the project manager Charalambos Panorios, leading experts Janez Sirše and Gottfried Hilz-Ward, office manager Victoria Chuvalova, and representative of "European Profiles" Vladimir Kuzmich arrived in Polotsk. At a meeting in the District Executive Committee, the main areas of work were determined, and then the guests familiarized themselves with the tourist sites of the region. They visited the Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Holy Euphrosyne Monastery, and the restored complex of the former Jesuit Collegium, which now houses the faculties of Polotsk State University, and visited the souvenir shop "City of Masters" and the tourist complex "Mayontak," owned by the peasant farm "Echo."

Sharing their impressions, the European specialists noted that the residents of Polotsk not only possess rich tourism potential but also know how to present it with dignity.

The project will help to elevate this work to a higher level. The number of tourists at the facilities it covers is expected to increase by at least 20%. The interrelation between administrations and service providers is to be strengthened by creating local tourism clusters (centers). Familiarization trips and training seminars will be organized, and promotional materials will be published. One of the important results will be the creation of a territorial brand that will help Polotsk promote its individuality, attracting the attention of potential investors, tourists, and consumers of goods and services.

Larisa Malashenya, "Vitebskiye Vesti".