Tour operators urged to have services certified as soon as possible :: Charter'97 :: News

The National Tourism Agency (NTA) has called on Belarusian tour operators to have their services certified as soon as possible.

All tour operators have been given until January 1, 2006 to obtain the certification from the NTA or the Belarusian State Institute for Standardization and Certification, Svetlana Chislova, chief of the agency’s certification department, told BelaPAN.

Those missing the deadline will be slapped with hefty fines and have their license revoked.

“It takes at least two weeks to complete the certification procedure and it’s clear that we will have trouble certifying all companies, especially if they start applying only in fall,” the official said.

The certification agencies inspect tour operators’ offices, the competence of the staff, compliance with paperwork requirements, etc. The cost of the procedure ranges between 300,000 ($140) and 800,000 rubels ($370).

Only four tour operators so far have obtained the certification, Ms. Chislova said.

The Ministry of Sports and Tourism and the NTA also have suggested certifying all tourist guides, who, according to Ms. Chislova, “should cultivate patriotic feelings in Belarus’ residents and help form our country’s image for foreign tourists.”