179 travel agencies lose their tourism licenses

The Ministry of Sport and Tourism said that 179 travel agencies and private individuals that offered tourist services have been deprived of such opportunity. The main claim was that these companies have failed to find partners outside Belarus, who would undertake tourist delivery to Belarus, reported Radio Liberty.
According to Aliaxandr Lukashenka's commission, the Council of Ministers adopted a regulation back in spring: all tourist companies must be engaged not only with departing but also arriving tourism, so the agencies and individual businessmen were to receive new licenses by 1 September. Today the final results of the re-licensing were publicized.
Thus, of 700 travel agencies 179, according to the officials, showed their inability to operate under new conditions.
What is indicative is that a part of the travel agencies was not even tempted to go through the re-licensing procedure. According to the end of August data, only 400 of 650 travel agencies registered in Belarus sent to the ministry documents required to new licenses.
The head of the National Agency for Tourism Cheslau Shulha believes that 100% matching in this case is not required at all: the earlier number is to be compensated by "a higher level of service".