Press releases

MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) - The 4th international forum to discuss Belarus' image will be held on 5-6 December, Anatoly Akantinov, Director General of the strategic development center Marketing Systems and the organizer of the event, told media on 12 November, BelTA has learnt.

According to Anatoly Akantinov, the last two forums focused on practical matters and activities aimed at shaping Belarus’ image. The goal of the forum is to outline specific activities and bring together progressive experts, companies and international communities in order to implement the projects designed to improve the country’s image. The forum popularizes and supports the projects which pay dividends to cities, regions and branches of economy.

The forum will be divided into three thematic sections. They will discuss the promotion and development of cities and regions, international PR via the Internet and event tourism.

One of the creators of the brand “I Amsterdam” Bjorn Stenvers will present his unique experience at the forum. In the first five years since 2004 the number of tourists visiting Amsterdam has gone up about four times. In 2009 tourism earned €5.2 billion for the city. Amsterdam currently hosts about 170 major international cultural events every year. Brest and Lida are among the Belarusian cities which are seeking ways to promote themselves. Their representatives will take part in one of the sections of the forum, too.

In 2013 the Belarusian Foreign Ministry kicked off a new Internet project under the name “Belarus. Facts” which contains information about Belarus. Everyone who would like to visit this country can contact a Belarusian embassy abroad and receive the necessary information. However, the organizers of the forum admit that having several famous Belarusian web portals is not enough. The second section of the forum will be dedicated to unique private projects about Belarus and its events.

The event tourism section is expected to be one of the most popular ones considering the 2014 IIHF World Championship due in Minsk. The section will discuss the creation of tourism products, assessment of the effectiveness of tourism, Belarusian cuisine, new initiatives in event tourism as well as preparations for the 2014 IIHF World Championship.

The forum is organized by the strategic development center Marketing Systems. The holding company Horizont is a title partner. The event will be held with the assistance of OO Marketing Experts’ Guild, the hotel Europe, the Belarusian State Academy of Music, the print shop Donarit and the advertising holding company SMG - Belarus. Other organizers include the Belarusian Sport and Tourism Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Information Ministry, the Economy Ministry, the Trade Ministry and the Culture Ministry.