Development of strategic destination plans in Belarus

In the framework of a development project to strengthen sustainable tourism in five selected destinations in Belarus, which is being implemented by an international consortium under the leadership of European Profiles, Kai Partale was in charge of the preparation of the development strategies.

The primary objective was the preparation of medium to long-term development plans to promote sustainable tourism in five selected destinations. They provide the relevant information on the destinations and integrate the project ideas of the involved service and decision makers from the working group meetings.

In the first part, the actual situation of the destinations was evaluated and possible obstacles were identified that could have a negative impact on the future development process. This included a consideration of challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism (e.g. capacity constraints, market trends and environmental issues). The evaluation formed the basis for all subsequent strategic considerations of the concept.

The next step was to define the visions for the destinations and to develop tourism products that correspond to the specific characteristics of the destinations and are geared to specific market segments. Based on the positioning of the destinations, tourism infrastructure, human resource development and demand-oriented marketing will be developed in concrete project proposals.

The last part contains a series of action plans in which the most important activities, responsibilities, resources and a time schedule were described.

In the following, based on the development concepts, concrete projects are accompanied during the implementation phase.