Tokayev harshly criticized the quality of railway transportation in the country

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke harshly about the problems with the country’s transport infrastructure, emphasizing that this seriously impedes the development of domestic tourism, Liter.kz reports.

According to him, the quality of railway transportation does not stand up to criticism: most of the cars are worn out, some do not have air conditioning. He instructed the government to renew the fleet of carriages and improve the areas of railway stations in the next five years so that they meet international standards.

Tokayev also noted that it is necessary to increase the number of trains with comfortable carriages on the most popular routes, especially in the summer, when the flow of passengers increases sharply.

In addition, the president drew attention to the quality of roads, which, according to him, do not allow the regions to fully unleash their tourism potential. He pointed to long-term construction projects, such as the Astana-Almaty highway, the reconstruction of which has been ongoing since 2021, as well as other unfinished projects, including Atyrau-Astrakhan, Taldykorgan-Ust-Kamenogorsk, Merke-Burylbaytal, Aktobe-Kandyagash and Kaztalovka-Zhanibek. He demanded the government to complete these projects this year to ensure smooth access to tourist destinations.

Tokayev emphasized that poor logistics connectivity of holiday destinations affects not only domestic tourism, but also the influx of guests from abroad. He noted that 90% of foreign tourists come from the CIS countries, and pointed out the need to attract tourists from China, India, East Asia and the Middle East. To do this, it is necessary to take into account national characteristics and the interests of foreign tourists, as well as develop air transport and expand the presence of low-cost airlines on popular routes. Now the share of low-cost airlines in Kazakhstan is only 21%, while in Georgia and Azerbaijan it is 56% and 37%, respectively.

The President recalled that 2024 has been declared the year of tourism of Kazakhstan in China, and pointed out the importance of using the country’s tourism and cultural potential to attract more tourists from China, paying special attention to the development of tourism in border areas.