What changes are planned for the agro-ecotourism legislation in Belarus?
– What necessitated the amendments to the decree?
– Initially, in 2006, this document was adopted to support the rural population, develop entrepreneurial initiative in the hinterland, and preserve national Belarusian traditions. Preferential terms for such businesses were provided for in the legislation. However, over time, Decree No. 365 began to be applied not as intended in many cases. Exploiting loopholes in the legislation, some enterprising individuals, under the guise of agro-ecotourism estates, started opening hotels and catering establishments, and providing services such as baths and saunas. Complaints about the activities of agro-ecotourism estates from neighbors began to pour in. Villagers said that the owners did not live there but were registered and rented out housing, while guests made noise, set off fireworks, and drank alcohol. At the same time, the owners of the estates could not be held administratively liable as individuals. They found loopholes in the legislation, limiting themselves to warnings.
– How was the public discussion conducted?
– It was held in every region of the country. In Vitebsk, a public council was held to introduce amendments. By the way, the council includes estate owners from each district of the region, as well as representatives of the sports and tourism departments of district executive committees. At the discussion, the initiatives of each were heard, after which the issues were put to a vote. The most interesting initiatives are sent to the Ministry of Sports and Tourism. Then, a republican public council was held at the Ministry of Sports. The meeting was attended by representatives from each region (from the Vitebsk region – owners of agro-ecotourism estates from the Braslav district), and ordinary villagers living next to these estates. In addition, anyone could express their comments and suggestions on the adjustment of Decree No. 365 in a special thread on the Legal Forum of Belarus. All this took place at the end of the year. And in January, an online meeting was held to summarize the results of the public discussion of the draft.
– What specific innovations are proposed to be introduced into the decree?
– It will be forbidden to make noise in agro-ecotourism estates from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., just like in city houses. It is proposed to consider only objects with an area of 0.15 hectares or more as agro-ecotourism estates. Currently, some owners of such businesses have houses on very small plots: in fact, it's just a cottage with two or three trees nearby, enclosed by a fence or decorative hedge. It is clear that this cannot be called an agro-ecotourism estate. It is desirable that there be a personal subsidiary farm next to the cottage. And the tourist could eat fresh vegetables straight from the garden, and fruits from the orchard. We also propose to introduce a declarative principle for opening an agro-ecotourism estate instead of a notification-based one. Now, to start such activities, it is enough to send a corresponding notification to the district executive committee by ordinary letter. At the same time, authorities could not initially know whether the new object meets the requirements of Decree No. 365. And they could only prohibit the operation of the estate in case of repeated gross violations. The declarative principle provides that before starting the activities of an agro-ecotourism estate, a commission from the district executive committee must visit the object to check it for compliance with the requirements of the legislation. After that, it will make a decision on registration, or refusal with justifications.
– What is specific about the development of agro-ecotourism estates in the Vitebsk region?
– We have quite a lot of them, thanks to the abundance of lakes and other picturesque places. Previously, the number of estates grew annually: in 2020, 670 agro-ecotourism entities were operating, and in 2021 – 732. Recently, tax legislation has changed in Belarus. Previously, to carry out such activities, it was required to pay a tax of 2 basic units per year; now it is one basic unit per month. In this regard, slightly more than 100 business entities have submitted applications to cease their activities. This is understandable. Some estates only receive clients during the warm season. In late autumn and early spring, people do not travel much and do not tend to go to the lakes. Plus heating costs. But for the summer period, I think the owners of closed estates will resume their activities.
– In your opinion, how should an agro-ecotourism estate ideally operate?
– It is important to create a national flavor. I would really like to popularize Belarusian traditions. For example, why not create mini-museums of old things? By the way, similar collections are exhibited in some estates.
Also, in agro-ecotourism estates, one can engage in educational activities, telling guests about work in a household plot: how and what is grown. Some townspeople, who do not have a summer house, rarely visit the countryside. For them and their children, such recreation is quite exotic. The owner of one of the estates said: a family from Moscow visited them, and a preschool-aged girl looked at the vegetables in the garden with such amazement! She asked permission to touch the onion in the ground. Simply put, some city children think that vegetables and fruits grow in the store.
Events in a national style with ancient rituals will also arouse tourists' interest. For example, such as "Tereshka's Wedding" in Lepel district. And practically in every district of the region, by digging into the archives, one can find similar ancient traditions characteristic of the region.
"Vitebskiye Vesti".