«Tunisia awaits»: Belarusian Tourism Industry Professionals Seminar
«Tunisia awaits». That was the title of a seminar attended by Belarusian travel industry professionals, which took place on April 3 in Minsk at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Minsk 5*. The meeting was held on the eve of the resumption of the flight program of Belavia, the leader of passenger transportation in Belarus, to the Tunisian airport Enfidha.
The start of flights is scheduled for May 22 of the current year and this is without exaggeration, a joyful event for Belarusian travelers — those who have long known and loved Tunisia, increasingly choosing the visa-free Tunisian Mediterranean for their holidays instead of Schengen countries that require complicated document processing.
What was discussed at the April seminar in Minsk? What other events were held in anticipation of the resumption of direct air service between Belarus and Tunisia?
These and other questions are answered by our colleagues, direct participants of the meeting of professionals in the Belarusian capital: Alla Filimonova, General Representative of Carthage Group in Russia, the CIS and Europe, and Irina Boukadida, the permanent Head of the Tunisia Destination at Carthage Group since 2014.
From which cities in Belarus will flights to Tunisia operate, and how often?
Alla Filimonova: The start of flights is scheduled for May 22, with a frequency of 10 and 11 nights (11/12 days). The airline Belavia plans to operate flights on an Airbus A330 and passengers will have the option to travel in both economy and business class.
Belavia flights will be operated from Minsk to Enfidha, and it’s worth noting that Enfidha is ideally located in relation to all the popular Tunisian resorts. Approximate distances and travel times to the nearest hotels: Sousse – about 45 km and 35 minutes; Hammamet – 45 km and 45–50 minutes; Monastir – 85 km and 1 hour 15 minutes; Mahdia – 110 km and about 1 hour 45 minutes or 2 hours.
Which tour operators of Belarus plan to send their tourists to the Tunisian Mediterranean?
Irina Boukadida: The customer and consolidator of the aircraft, which will provide direct air service between Belarus and Tunisia, is a long-standing partner of Carthage Group, a company with more than 30 years of experience in the tourism industry, a major Belarusian tour operator Intercity. Within the framework of the flight program starting on May 22, Intercity has retained more than half of the passenger seats, while also satisfying requests for seat blocks received from a number of Belarusian tour operators interested in participating in direct flights. These include Rosting, Time Voyage, Voyage Tour and AirBelService.
Which Intercity employees attended the seminar at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Minsk 5*? What was the composition of the participants, and how interested were Belarusian colleagues in this event?
Alla Filimonova: The meeting was very representative, in particular, it was attended by the founder, co-founder, and director of Intercity, Igor Tsurankov, and his deputy, product manager Olga Myshkovskaya, who previously headed the Tunisia direction of the company. Among the participants were also Olga Serafimovich, who currently heads the Tunisia direction at Intercity, Victoria Bliznyuk, head of premium and individual tours, and Ekaterina Rybak, head of the marketing and advertising department, as well as other representatives of Intercity’s top management.
In total, the seminar gathered an audience of more than 150 colleagues, while Olga Myshkovskaya noted that it was not possible to confirm participation for all those interested, of whom there were quite many.
What issues were raised during the seminar in Minsk?
Alla Filimonova: Before the start of the event, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, during the registration of participants and the coffee break, participants and guests of the seminar were able to communicate informally, and for us this became a time of warm greetings with long-time acquaintances, friends and partners in the tourism industry.
At the seminar, which lasted more than two hours, an impressive range of issues was discussed. The hotel base, which accounted for about half of the total time. The excursion program. The tourist tax. Current entry conditions to Tunisia and the specifics of its currency legislation, the latter having acquired particular importance in connection with sanctions imposed on a number of Belarusian banks.
It is also worth noting separately that at this event we presented a most important, unique document created by the Carthage Group team, a special regulation, a Guide for tour operators, travel agents, and tourists, where dozens of nuances related to holidays in Tunisia are professionally and expertly described. We regularly update the text of this document, written taking into account many years of our experience and the informational capabilities available today to Carthage Group employees.
That is indeed valuable. Did members of your team share any other special insights?
Irina Boukadida: Of course. For example, returning to the topic of the hotel base, which traditionally generates great interest, in the current presentation we offered colleagues our own proprietary classification of hotels based on 26 criteria. This is a real “navigation map”, which will surely become a convenient assistant for travel agents in selecting accommodation for travelers with the most precise, finely tuned consideration of the interests of any target audience.
In what format were the speakers’ presentations conducted?
Alla Filimonova: The seminar was conducted in an interactive mode, and we tried to make our presentations as lively as possible by offering the audience various questions, each with four answer options. The results were displayed on the screen in the form of a diagram, and this technique allowed us not only to diversify the presentations but also gave listeners the opportunity to test their knowledge or memories of Tunisia and actively engage in the process.
In addition to the seminar in Minsk, did Carthage Group employees hold any other events for Belarusian colleagues ahead of the resumption of the flight program?
Irina Boukadida: In total, we conducted more than five online meetings. The general theme was the same as at the seminar in Minsk: “Tunisia awaits”. Different webinars had different numbers of participants, from 50 to 100 people. Belarusian colleagues were very active and asked many additional questions. The greatest interest was in the discussion of the hotel base, perhaps this is currently the most pressing topic for agents and tour operators in Belarus, since during the absence of flights to Tunisia their existing information on this issue has lost its relevance. One of the webinars was dedicated exclusively to hotels of the Novostar chain, an important structural division of Carthage Group.
Alla Filimonova: The Zoom platforms were filled to 100% and participants did not leave until the end of our rather long webinars, lasting more than two hours. The interest is indeed high, as Tunisia has always been a popular destination in Belarus. Before the pandemic, flights to Tunisia were operated not only from Minsk but also from several other cities. The range of questions asked during the webinars varied from entry conditions and currency legislation to jellyfish, which are always a topic of conversation. But the main interest is indeed focused on the hotel base, which accounted for most of the Carthage Group webinars.
Returning to the seminar in the Belarusian capital. During this event, Carthage Group presented Intercity with gift certificates. What do they represent?
Irina Boukadida: To reward the most successful travel agents, we provided Intercity with 6 certificates for stays at hotels from the Carthage Group priority list:
- Royal Azur Thalassa 5*, Hammamet
- Novostar Bel Azur Thalassa & Bungalow 4*, Hammamet
- Novostar Khayam Garden Beach & Spa 4*, Nabeul
- Medina Solaria & Thalasso 5*, Hammamet
- Royal Thalassa Monastir 5*, Monastir
- Sentido Bellevue Park 5*, Sousse
Accommodation: standard double rooms on an All Inclusive basis (DBL Standard, A.I) for 10 nights / 11 days.
Alla Filimonova: The certificates from Carthage Group are intended to reward travel agents who achieve the best results for individual months. That is, at the seminar on April 3, only one, the first voucher was awarded, and it went to the leader of March sales. The rest will be presented later, based on the results of subsequent months, until August.
It only remains to add that certificate holders will be able to use them and travel either in May or in September/October. In summer, agents have no time for trips, as intensive work lies ahead, especially considering the resumption of Belavia’s flight program. In any case, Tunisia awaits its guests all year round and we wish everyone to take advantage of the sunny hospitality of this country and enjoy traveling across the African Mediterranean.
