Tourism without barriers

The Braslav district is more than just a picturesque landscape – it is a place where everyone feels welcome. With support from the Joint Project, accessible tourism has become the norm rather than the exception.

In 2025, 21 pilot initiatives that advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being implemented across Belarus. Each of these projects is a step toward a society where physical capabilities do not determine one’s chances of living a full and meaningful life.

One such initiative in Braslav emerged from collaboration between the district’s Public Association for Cross-Border Cooperation “Euro-Region Lake District”, Braslav Lakes National Park, and the Republican Association of Wheelchair Users.

The partnership delivered concrete results: 26 tourism specialists received training in creating accessible routes for people with disabilities, including wheelchair users and individuals with visual and hearing impairments.

“Thank you so much for the course! Now I feel more confident and competent in working with this category of guests,” reflected one participant.

The initiative’s centerpiece includes newly developed inclusive tours across Braslav and Polotsk towns, as well as access to the country’s largest music festival, Viva Braslav – because music is for everyone.

To ensure comfort for visitors with limited mobility, Braslav Lakes National Park acquired specialized equipment including pool lifts and electric scooters. A dedicated brochure, developed as part of the SDG pilot initiative, details the park’s inclusive facilities.

The transformation reflects a fundamental shift in approach. “The implementation of our initiative allows people with limited mobility to see and feel that we need them, that we are waiting for them and will create all the conditions within our power for their comfortable stay and recreation in Braslav Lakes National Park,” explains the initiative’s Coordinator Nadezhda Dudarenok. “We are ready to welcome everyone, leaving no one behind.”

This commitment is especially meaningful for the Braslav district, where 1,360 people with disabilities reside, including 162 wheelchair users. For them, the opportunity to explore their native region is not a luxury but a long-awaited reality.

“Only someone who is confined to four walls all the time can understand this – here they were given a vivid picture, an opportunity to see and feel. These emotions are indescribable. It is joy, happiness, confidence that you overcame, that you were helped and not turned away,” says Inna Rupets, a Minsk visitor describing her inclusive tour experience. The transformation also reached Braslav’s town beach. Through an initiative led by the district’s Social Services Centre, the beach has been redesigned for universal access.

Wooden decking and handrails, beach wheelchairs, inclusive changing facilities and accessible toilets have transformed a previously restricted space into a genuinely welcoming public space for people with disabilities, families with pushchairs, and elderly visitors alike.

“A person in a wheelchair cannot simply approach the water, but such initiatives create places where everyone, without exception, can come and connect with nature,” observes local resident Elena Shaputko.

The regional SDG pilot initiatives contribute significantly to localizing sustainable development across Belarus, demonstrating that global progress begins with local partnerships and grassroots action. The projects also provide inspiration and practical models for other regions.

“The SDGs contribute to changing society’s attitude towards people with disabilities,” notes the initiative’s Coordinator Irina Maksimovich, emphasizing that inclusion requires shifts in both mindset and behavior.

Local resident Vadim Pakhomov, who has a first-degree disability, reinforces this perspective: “I believe all people should be equal and have access to recreation. Therefore, despite all obstacles, conditions must be created so that people with disabilities feel comfortable.”

Step by step, the Braslav region demonstrates that accessible tourism transcends sloganeering to become meaningful practice where every guest feels welcome. Here, beside the lakes where sunsets paint the sky, beauty has become truly accessible to all.

The pilot initiatives are implemented with support of the Joint Project “Support to the Efforts of the Republic of Belarus in Nationalization and Localization of SDGs”, funded by the Russian Federation.

More about the pilot initiatives on the SDGs via the link.