A second sightseeing boat will appear on the Western Dvina by the XX festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk"

March 31, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. A second pleasure boat will start operating on the Western Dvina River by the XX International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". The Republican Unitary Enterprise "Pinsk Shipyard of the Order of the Badge of Honour" is building another vessel for Vitebsk, Dmitry Sherikov, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. The need to acquire a second boat is due to the immense popularity of water excursions among both townspeople and visitors. The first boat in the last two decades, named "Vitebsk", appeared on the Western Dvina on October 9, 2010. Despite the autumn season, there were always people willing to ride it until the end of navigation. Now the white beauty stands on the slipways in the river port and, probably, like the Vitebsk residents, is eagerly awaiting the opening of the navigation season. The second boat, according to Dmitry Sherikov, will be of the same class as the first one, but with a larger passenger capacity. The vessel is lightweight and designed for navigation on small and shallow rivers. Its undeniable advantage, like that of the "Vitebsk" boat, will be its silent engine operation. The boats will operate as tourist vessels on the Western Dvina within the city limits: from the pier on Victory Square to the park named after the Soviet Army, with a stop at the pier near the mouth of the Vitba River into the Western Dvina. This route, approximately 5 km long, runs along picturesque banks, past historical and architectural landmarks of the ancient city. While shipbuilders are manufacturing the new boat, Vitebsk residents are sending suggestions for its naming to the Vitebsk City Executive Committee website, said Denis Glutkin, head of the Ideological Work Department of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee. Most often, they suggest naming it in honor of famous fellow countrymen. It is possible that the city authorities will have to resort to public assistance to choose a name for the new boat, as it is known: as you name the ship, so it will sail. According to the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, in 2010, tourist services worth Br13.2 billion were provided in the city, which is 29.5% more than in 2009. At the same time, the growth rate of tourist service exports, which characterizes inbound tourism volumes, reached 150%. According to data for January of the current year, the growth rate of tourist service exports was 170%. -0-