The number of tourists Belarus welcomed in H1 2014 increased by 25% in comparison with H1 2013, said Vadim Karmazin, Director of the Tourism Department of the Belarusian Sports and Tourism Ministry, during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website.
      Vadim Karmazin noted that so far this year has been successful for the travel industry. In H1 2014 Belarus welcomed about 90,000 tourists as part of organized tourist groups, 25% up from H1 2013. Tourists are primarily attracted to recreation in Belarusian sanatoriums and farm tourism estates, sight-seeing tours to famous historical and cultural legacy places of interest. According to the State Border Committee, in January-June 2014 as many as 1.9 million people crossed the Belarusian border on tourism, business, and private visits. As many as 550,000 people travelled across Belarus in transit.
      In H1 2014 Belarus exported $120.4 million worth of tourism services. Vadim Karmazin explained that there are plans to increase the export of tourism services primarily by reaching to new markets. As promising markets the official mentioned Europe and Southeast Asia.