Rural Tourism Development Supports Private Enterprise Growth in Belarus
Over a freshly-made cheese fritter drenched in homemade sour cream and topped with hand-picked strawberries, Andrey Nizhnik enchants his guests with the tale of how he became a bed and breakfast farmstead owner.
“After watching a television program promoting what is locally known as ‘village tourism,’ my wife Alla and I went to a training in Minsk to learn what to do, and then we turned my grandmother’s cottage into a two-story villa,” says Mr. Nizhnik. “Now we get guests from Belarus, Holland, Latvia and even Japan.”
The Nizhniks live in the quaint village of Zarechany, which has the advantage of being just 25 kilometers outside Minsk. Their cottage (locally known as a dacha) is especially charming, surrounded by a sizable apple orchard and a pond teeming with fish and water lilies.
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Andrey Nizhnik savors life in the Belarusian village where he and his wife operate a bed and breakfast
PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Boyle |
Belarus is not usually considered a top tourist destination; however, village tourism (also referred to as rural or eco-tourism) is one of the fastest growing sectors of private enterprise in the country. Valeria Klitsounova, the head of the Agro- and Eco-Tourism Association, an organization that unites 200 members supporting village tourism, says the trend is the result of the farmsteads’ customer-driven approach. This orientation is in direct contrast to much of Belarus’ business culture, which is largely state-controlled and impersonal.
A grant from the Eurasia Foundation and a presidential decree encouraging the development of domestic tourism have enabled the Agro- and Eco-Tourism Association to lead the way in fostering a service-oriented culture. The association began offering information and training seminars on organizing and registering customer-focused village tourism enterprises.
One of the first lessons from their training the Nizhniks put into practice was sensitivity to customer needs. Attention to detail has paid off, and these days the farmstead is booked year-round with city dwellers looking to return to their roots and enjoy traditional summer and winter pastimes.
With the increasing popularity of rural tourism, Mr. Nizhnik has noticed that his neighbors in Zarechany are now painting their own windows and fences, and cleaning up the streets. The ripple effects of village tourism appear to be inspiring even those not directly involved to take pride in their surroundings.
The Nizhniks say that they have not earned much money from their enterprise yet—only enough to reclaim their original investment and to pay for their children’s university education. Nonetheless, they enjoy their new business and are now active members of the Agro- and Eco-Tourism Association. Their farmstead serves as a popular example for other village businesspeople learning how to set up a bed and breakfast and see how it actually works.
Despite their busy schedule, The Nizhniks still manage to offer a full entertainment and cultural program for their guests: fresh home-cooked meals, Belarusian folk songs and chestushki (witty and sometimes off-color poetry, the Russian equivalent of limericks), and a Russian banya (sauna) complete with fresh birch branches.
With a perfect combination of sincere, service-oriented village hosts and untouched natural beauty, it is easy to see how new business opportunities building on the local dacha tradition have sparked an enthusiastic following in Belarus and beyond.
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