The overview of Over Neman Farmstead, from GreenBelarus.com
Western tourists take travel guides and rating systems like Michelin, Fodor and Lonely Planet for granted. Thanks to a New Eurasia Establishment (NEE) project, tourists in Belarus now have a means to make more informed choices when choosing from inns and guesthouses springing up as part of the country’s nascent eco-tourism industry.
The Belarusian Public Union “Country Escape” designed a certification system for rural tourism providers based on guests’ actual experiences. Bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, farmsteads and other rural tourism providers can now receive a rating – between one and four roosters – based on a series of criteria evaluating the quality of their services, as well as compliance with safety and environmental standards. Tourists now know that they can expect quality from a highly rated guesthouse, and tourism providers can use their rooster rating to market their services.
The Belarusian government is adjusting its rating procedures to evaluate the quality of tourist enterprises based on this system. Based on the success of this rating system—some 36 tourism operators are currently ranked—a new NEE project in partnership with Country Escape will offer a series of 14 workshops on sustainable development, ecological standards, marketing and others to help service providers create profitable establishments and promote them to the widest possible audience.
