Tourism in Kazakhstan: Tokayev criticized the Government’s plans

A meeting on tourism development was held under the chairmanship of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Liter.kz reports.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Head of the Presidential Administration Aibek Dadebay, Prosecutor General Berik Asylov, Chairman of the National Security Committee Ermek Sagimbayev, members of the Government, akims of Astana, cities of republican significance and regions, heads of national companies and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken” , representatives of the business community.

The head of state noted that tourism acts as a catalyst for the dynamic development of the world economy. In addition, this industry is one of the most attractive for investors.

– Today, the share of tourism in the global gross product has exceeded 9%. Thus, we can say that this indicator is returning to pre-pandemic levels. About 10% of jobs in the world are provided by tourism. Every fourth new job is opened in this industry. 30% of world exports, 7% of investments and 5% of tax revenues come from the tourism services sector. “Kazakhstan has everything necessary for the development of all types of tourism: from environmental to business,” the President said.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pointed out the insufficient use of the existing potential in the field of tourism, despite the favorable geographical location of the country, the diversity of nature, and the rich and unique historical and cultural heritage.

– Tourism as an important sector of the economy is not yet effective, which is a big omission of the Government and akimats. Over the past four years, the share of tourism in the economic structure has decreased from 3.7% to 3.2%. This is almost 3 times lower than the world average. Moreover, according to this indicator, we are inferior to neighboring countries with similar climate and culture. It is obvious that a qualitative breakthrough in the development of the tourism industry requires urgent systemic measures,” he said.

The President outlined several priority areas that require special attention. In his opinion, first of all, it is necessary to increase the investment attractiveness of the tourism sector.

– According to the World Economic Forum, our country ranks 70th out of 119 countries in terms of the level of development of the business environment in the tourism sector. This figure is neither admirable nor impressive. In fact, we do not have the conditions for doing business in this industry. As a result, despite the growth in tourist flow, the number of accommodation places in resort areas not only does not increase, but even decreases. Anti-leaders are the Alakol resort area from the Zhetysu region and the Almaty mountain cluster. The number of hotels, hotels and tourist centers there decreased by 24 and 16 units, respectively. As a result, the budget loses stable tax revenues, and the regions lose jobs,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The head of state said that there are complaints from business about difficulties with the allocation of land in national parks and forest lands. In his opinion, this limits opportunities for long-term investment, raising borrowed funds and developing tourism infrastructure.

– For example, among 17 breakthrough investment projects there were only two large projects in the field of tourism, which at the same time require significant budgetary investments. Apparently, the Government is not working effectively enough with investors who are ready to implement projects at their own expense. And they only need infrastructure support. It is necessary to create transparent and stable conditions to attract investors to the tourism industry. The government, together with regional akims, should start by digitizing Master Plans for the development of resort areas and ensuring open access to them. Potential investors should have the opportunity to receive up-to-date information on available land plots,” the President said.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev considers it necessary to pay special attention to attracting leading foreign IT specialists – “digital nomads” from all over the world – to Kazakhstan. The government has been instructed to launch special programs Digital Nomad Visa and Digital Nomad Residency in October of this year.

According to the Head of State, one of the serious problems of domestic tourism is the weak transport infrastructure.

– The quality of railway transportation in the country does not stand up to criticism. Most of the carriages are worn out, and some do not even have air conditioning. The government needs to renew its fleet of wagons in the next five years. It is necessary to complete this work promptly, without delaying the deadlines. In addition, it is important to improve the territory of railway stations. Their appearance and infrastructure must meet international standards. As you know, in the summer the flow of passengers increases sharply. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of trains with comfortable carriages to the most popular destinations. This is a top priority. The quality of our roads also leaves much to be desired. It is very difficult to reach remote recreation areas by car. We can say that there are practically no normal highways. Since 2021, the reconstruction of the Astana-Almaty highway, connecting the south and center of Kazakhstan, continues. There are many similar unfinished projects across the country: Atyrau – Astrakhan, Taldykorgan – Ust-Kamenogorsk, Merke – Burylbaital, Aktobe – Kandyagash, Kaztalovka – Zhanibek. In a word, the current situation does not allow the regions’ tourism potential to be fully revealed. At the same time, the estimated cost of road maintenance works increases every year. The government should fully complete these projects this year. It is necessary to ensure unimpeded access for people in all directions,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The President noted that poor logistics connectivity of holiday destinations affects not only domestic tourism, but also the influx of guests from abroad.

– Almost 90% of foreign tourists arrive in Kazakhstan from neighboring CIS countries. There are still few tourists from foreign countries. At the same time, international studies show that more than 70% of travelers prefer to visit vacation destinations within a 4-hour flight. That is, Kazakhstan can be very attractive for tourists from China, India, East Asia, and the Middle East. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account specific issues related to the national mentality of foreign tourists, their interests and requests, and not approach all tourists with a single program. This requires qualified personnel and a desire to do quality work. In principle, within 5 years we can double or even triple the number of tourists. We need to develop air transport. First of all, we need to expand the presence of low-cost airlines on popular air routes. Now their share in the structure of passenger air transportation in Kazakhstan is only 21%. For comparison, in Georgia and Azerbaijan this figure is 56% and 37%, respectively. In addition, businesses face constant changes in the air travel market and lack of time to adapt. According to the Atameken chamber, this year the Alakol direction was left without subsidized flights, which tour operators learned about on the eve of the start of the season, the Head of State emphasized.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recalled that this year has been declared the year of tourism of Kazakhstan in the PRC. He pointed out the importance of using both the tourism and cultural potential of our country to attract more tourists from China, while paying special attention to the development of tourism in border areas. The government, together with the akims of the border regions, was instructed to prepare settlements located near the border to receive tourists, urgently complete the modernization of the Bakhty and Kolzhat border checkpoints, and also establish constant monitoring of the safety of tourists visiting our country.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev criticized the Government’s plans to simultaneously develop 20 tourist zones in all regions of the country, saying that such an approach is ineffective and will lead to the dispersal of limited state resources. In his opinion, it is more expedient to equip the most promising facilities in the shortest possible time, which should become the hallmark of Kazakhstan’s tourism at the global level.

– The most suitable destinations: the mountain cluster of the Almaty region, beach tourism in Mangistau and the Shchuchinsk-Borovsk resort area. Almaty is the main center for tourism development in Kazakhstan. The city accounts for a quarter of the total tourist flow, including half of foreign tourists. But the city’s tourism infrastructure cannot withstand the growing load. In Shymbulak, the flow of visitors on weekends and holidays exceeds its capacity by 2.5 times. That is why the further development of the ski cluster is so important, including through the construction of an all-season mountain resort in the Turgen gorge of the Almaty region,” said the Head of State.

The government and the akimat have been instructed to develop new tourist areas located on the territory of the Burabay resort, such as Akbura, lakes Zhukey, Katarkol, Tekekol and others. The President also announced the need to launch express trains to Burabay from Astana, Karaganda, Pavlodar, and Ust-Kamenogorsk. In addition, an instruction was given to put into operation the “Unified Digital Platform Burabay Travel”, developed by the Presidential Administration, with the scaling of this digital product to other tourist destinations.