Asipovitski Kray, October 20, 2026, 9:56. To feel the thrill of something new, you don't necessarily have to leave the country - it's enough to take a detour from your usual route.

For about 20 years, the well-known tour company "Vizit-Tur" has been helping travelers discover Belarus and turn their journey through their native land into a real adventure. The company is, of course, focused on international tourism and transportation, but excursions around the native country are also in steady demand at "Vizit-Tur". We discussed the features of domestic tourism with tour agent Igor Sinykevich, who has been working in the Osipovichi office since its opening and has extensive experience in the travel industry.

• Igor, how interesting are trips around the country to Belarusians in general?
• Over the past five years, there has been a surge in domestic and inbound tourism. That is, people are really interested in exploring Belarus, and there is a growing understanding that there is also something to see in their native land. The development of social media has contributed to this in no small way. People may simply not know about certain destinations, but it's much easier to present interesting places through the internet. And here, the network's algorithms play into our hands: if a person once shows interest in a particular tour, the internet starts offering similar things. And, as they say, appetite comes with eating.
• What opportunities are there for tourist trips around the country for residents of Osipovichi?
• Along with "Vizit-Tur", there are several younger firms operating in Osipovichi. Each has its own offers and its own clients - locals are free to choose. The main difficulty is that the district is relatively small, and it's hard to gather a whole bus (that's 40 people) on a regular basis. Therefore, the optimal option for us, both ten years ago and today, is to combine with tourists from Bobruisk, and less often from Minsk. If the route is towards the capital, our buses pick up Osipovichi residents near the OZAA hotel. When the road is towards Gomel, those willing to travel need to arrive in Bobruisk in advance. But two or three times a year, we organize a departure directly from Osipovichi.

We do not consider the option of excursions on "marshrutkas" (minibuses) in order to avoid gathering 40 people: it's inconvenient for both tourists and accompanying guides. If an excursion is not gathering on a certain date, it's better to postpone it than to force people to "kill" their backs and knees in a minibus.

• Who is the average tourist?

— If we're talking specifically about domestic tourism, then it's often people slightly over 50 years old who go on trips. Apparently, this is because people have already achieved something in life, raised their children, and finally found time for additional entertainment. In addition to individual tourists, there are also several enterprises and organizations in the area that regularly organize trips for their employees. If the bus is not full, the tour company completes the group on its own. Unfortunately, schoolchildren have started traveling much less often. About eight years ago, trips were organized daily during vacations, but now there's only one or two, and mostly it's the elementary school that travels.

In any case, for all those who wish, we can always find options — by age, direction, budget, and context: entertainment trips (for example, a museum of ice cream, a trip to Santa Claus's residence), educational-patriotic (museums, complexes), cultural (theaters), or for active leisure (water park).

• And what directions are currently of most interest to Osipovites?

— Industrial tourism is gaining momentum: people are interested in how enterprises work, and the production of familiar products and things. You can visit both well-known giants like BelAZ, MTZ, and Kommunarka, as well as, for example, a sturgeon farm, a sparkling wine factory, cheese production, and so on. Sports tourism is also becoming popular. For example, in recent years, routes for kayaking and canoeing enthusiasts have become very popular. However, this type of recreation is easier and cheaper for people to organize on their own.

Agro-ecotourism is also in demand, but tour companies are not involved in its organization: the owners of estates find vacationers themselves. As for religious tourism, there's a bit of a substitution of concepts here. Trips to holy places, churches, and monasteries are mostly of a historical and educational nature, because we primarily look at the buildings themselves, learn some interesting facts, and get acquainted with the life of the parishes. True pilgrimage is something else.

In general, architectural and historical tourism is currently in first place, i.e., well-known places like Nesvizh, Mir, Grodno, and Khatyn. Industrial tourism comes second. Often, people choose more complex destinations: many active travel enthusiasts have already seen popular, branded places.

— In addition to working as a tour agent, you also accompany groups on trips as a guide. Are these two different professions?

— In the area today, there are only two accredited tour guides: myself and Olga Podvoyskaya, a teacher from Lipenetskaya school. And for me, as a person from the tourism industry, this aspect is extremely important. Accreditation of tour guides is a mandatory procedure for confirming the qualifications of specialists, which is regulated by law. After all, a guide is not just someone who talks non-stop throughout the journey: you need to know what, how, and when to tell something, in what sequence, what to pay attention to, and most importantly, be empathetic and not overload travelers. The impression of the trip largely depends on the tour guide.

— I think that as a tour agent, you have the opportunity to travel to many places, including Belarus. Which direction did you like the most?

— In my opinion, the most successful and interesting route was last year's, which we organized for an enterprise: the Dipriz eco-park — Novogrudok — Lake Svitiaz — Mir Castle — Litovka. Yes, it's intense, but at the same time, it's diverse. Just Litovka alone, about which there are completely polar opinions, is worth it! You can have any attitude towards this place, but it's definitely worth seeing it with your own eyes. Both the tourists and I were satisfied.

The trip along the Rakov — Volozhin — Nalibokskaya Pushcha (where we also organized dinner) — GrandMilk factory route was also excellent.

• And how much does a trip around Belarus cost today?

— The average price of a one-day trip is 130-150 rubles. This amount, of course, includes entrance tickets to museums, parks, and complexes. That is, we simply get on the bus and go, walk, look, and get impressed. And all organizational moments are taken care of by the tour company. If meals are planned along the route, the cost increases to 150-170 rubles. A two-day excursion will cost approximately 270-320 rubles, depending on the direction. Considering that such organized trips are not even annual for most people, it seems that it's quite possible to afford this type of vacation. And it's always interesting to explore your native lands!