Nickolai Bambiza "Pushcha requires paying absolute attention"
Sergei PROTAS, Elena DOVZHENOK, "Zvyazda" (The Star) newspaper, September 28, 2006
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The number of tourists visited the National Park this year was a little bigger than for the same period of the last year, Nickolai Bambiza, Director General of the State Nature Protection Institution "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", has told. "However, because of the improved service which we were able to achieve, the income gained from tourism has rather considerably grown, by 18 - 20 percents. I should mention that more foreigners began to come here. I think that a simplified state border crossing located near the number two frontier guard will contribute to increasing the amount of tourists coming from Europe. We are now actively working for this project together with the Polish colleagues. We also plan to set shields and signs and other visual information for visitors on the Polish side of Pushcha. This will allow the western tourists who come there to have a rest to get interested in visiting our National Park. There are interesting things for watching here."
"There was done very much in Belovezha lately. The infrastructure is improved. Good-quality roads which allow traveling not only by a car but also to cycle and to roll are under construction. Clearing the lakes in order to make water tourist routes is in progress. Some length of a former imperial road is open and designed in a certain style. Modern hotels, a restaurant, a cafe, saunas and a tennis court are available. A new "four-star" hotel with a pool and a conference hall is under construction. A small agro-town with the appropriate infrastructure is planned to be built next year in the village of Kamenyuki, today's administrative centre of the National Park. Director General seriously worries about getting help of archeologists to find the remnants of hunting houses where great princes and emperors stayed and to restore their outward appearance. Agree, a wax museum of the top-persons - from the princes, kings and emperors to the former USSR' secretaries general who had a rest and hunted here - will surely attract the tourists."
The difficult work on examination and certification of the official alcohol drink "Pushchanka" produced in Belovezha is completed. The director plans to make a small show using the case of its production, not only to have the tourists to drink and to offer it as a souvenir.
Another Director's dream is to achieve arrangement of a common "visa" for the visitors of Belovezhskaya Pushcha which would be valid both on our and Polish territories.
There are two countries but Pushcha is the single, Nickolai Bambiza explains. "We must care of it together".
In general, the plans are diverse. The most important is that they are not just in someone's head, even in the cleverest, but they also are studied to practically apply and many of them are already under realization. Moreover, the Park's management explores and develops an idea which would become attractive for tourists like the residence of Grandfather Frost mentioned above.
Belovezhskaya Pushcha can today attract tourists basically by ecosystems, flora and fauna, Nickolai Bambiza notes. "I consider that this is not enough. Something should be created that to interest a man in spending in Pushcha at least three days. Everyone, a child and an adult, could found entertainment or business to his liking. And there is such the idea."
Nickolai Nickolaevich, the number of foreign tourists visiting Belovezha is gradually increased last time. However, this rate is not so big as it would be desirable.
"We work to manage it. And believe there is no problem concerning our Park which cannot allegedly offer a tourist product of the respective quality. That's just all right. I personally often talk with the foreigners who visit us to have a rest and to hunt. Many of them have gone round all Europe. They hunted both in Poland, France and Germany... So, they do not see any difference in the conditions of a stay and in the quality of service. A myth about a lack of the infrastructure and the modern service in the Belarusian Belovezha is supported by the malevolent towards our country people and by unfair competitors of the National Park. It sometimes goes to the point of absurdity - after this kind of disinformation the foreigners come to us with bags full of products, being convinced that the wild people live here and sleep nearly on the letter... After they personally get acquainted with Pushcha, with the Belarusians who live here and with their style of life, they simply take offence – why one can deceive into believing this!"
"It is still difficult to us in bringing full and truthful information about the National Park to the tourists from Western Europe. However, we considerably activated the work in this field too. We participate in international tourist exhibitions. We will update and promote our website in the cyberspace. We are looking for contacts with foreign travel companies. In this field we actually work with the Netherlands. Tourists from this country are our constant visitors. We negotiate now with the Croats... The Center of Resorts of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus also supports us."
The validity of a European Diploma which was granted to the National Park expires this year. Some nongovernmental mass-media try to speculate in this case by saying that the Belarusian Belovezha is deprived of a high estimation...
"Someone perhaps would like to get this... However, there are no occasions for excitement. The experts of the UNESCO's Committee on World Heritage very recently visited our Park. They did not make any essential bad observations. Moreover, they were pleasantly surprised not only their last recommendations are carried out but much more is done. They were especially surprised enlargement of the strictly protected area of the Park nearly twice and the fact that in Belarus a Regulation on a National Park and its borders are approved by a Decree of the Head of the state. In January, 2007 in Strasbourg a session is planned to consider prolongation of the validity of a European Diploma. There are all preconditions to think that the issue will be brought in the positive way."
.... During the conversation with us Director General signs documents and looks through the letters became numerous while he was absence.
In an add moment he notices that "there was a lot of dust concerning the activity of the National Park in the oppositional press. Although to call "the press", it is very loudly regarding clumsy efforts by one man who earlier worked in the National Park and reached the end of his tether in the field he was responsible. For this reason we were necessary to say to him goodbye. As a response, the former employee has developed a grandiose campaign in the cyberspace and in the "independent" mass-media in order to discredit the management of the National Park which lasts already for some years."
"But we have nothing to look at it, because of no time. We have to work", Nickolai Bambiza notes. "Pushcha requires paying absolute attention to its problems."
Information prepared by
Sergei PROTAS, Elena DOVZHENOK,
Photo by Maria ZHILINSKAYA .
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