Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly spoke about the ongoing work on the development of the tourism industry in Kazakhstan at a press conference in the Government’s press center.

According to the minister, the ministry is actively engaged in the promotion and development of tourist facilities. In 2019 under the execution of Head of State’s orders, the State Program for the Development of Tourism will be adopted, which will allow Kazakhstan to fully realize the potential for attracting foreign tourists.

In the course of the work on the document, an in-depth analysis was conducted and best practices in the development and promotion of tourism in the US, Canada, Turkey, EU countries, as well as Russia, Georgia, and Uzbekistan were studied.

Based on the tasks set by the Head of State, three main objectives of the program are identified:

• increasing the flow of mass international tourists;
• developing the market and creating new jobs, increasing the number of people employed in the tourism industry;
• increasing the investment attractiveness of the tourism industry and the share of tourism in the total GDP of Kazakhstan to 8% by 2025. In addition, the active attraction of large foreign investors into the country with experience in the development of world-wide tourist distributions.

“On the instructions of the Head of State, we have developed the State Program for the Development of Tourism, which in 2018 will be submitted for nationwide discussion. Tourism is the most dynamically developing sphere in the world, and Kazakhstan also has the right to be in the leading positions. We are a country that has four distinct seasons, this is our huge advantage, we are a country where there is political stability, interethnic consent, and we have a desire to actively develop and move forward. Foreigners note our good attitude and hospitality. I am sure that we have a huge potential the tourism sector,” said Mukhamediuly, noting that sports and cultural events held in the country are very popular.

The core of the state program is the Map of Kazakhstan's touristization. Top 10 destinations of the republican level and 50 regional ones have been determined. According to the ministry, the successful implementation of the Top 10 project will allow to increase the tourist flow four times by 2025, to create up to 64 thousand new jobs in the economy of our country.T

In the list of tourist facilities, the minister noted the Almaty ski cluster.

“This is a high-capacity Shymbulak resort, just recently a new ski base has been opened in the Talgar region. Our task today is to combine these facilities together by a cable car, and it is then that the influx of both local amateurs of the ski slopes and foreign ones will increase. Foreigners will be of tremendous interest, in addition, alpine skiing is one of the most profitable projects in the development of tourism, and having such a unique natural phenomenon and all the necessary infrastructure, we cannot but take advantage of this opportunity,” said Mukhamediuly.

At the same time, the minister noted that walking in Kazakhstan is relevant in the summer, which may well interest foreign tourists. Hiking eco-tourism is also developing in the Almaty region.

The minister also said that in order to increase the tourist attractiveness of the country, the pilot regime is launching the electronic visa mechanism for 128 countries of the world, as well as the Silk Road visa, which greatly facilitates the access of a foreign tourist to the country while maintaining maximum security.

It should be noted that since April 2017, the Sacred Geography of Kazakhstan project has been implemented under the Rouhani Zhangyru program. For the purpose of methodological, scientific and practical support of the project at the National Museum, the Center "Qasietti Qazaqstan" was created. In order to systematize the sacred objects, Lists of objects of national (185 objects) and local significance (456 objects) were formed. For the first time the local scientific association "Tugan Zher" was created. The forums "Sacred Geography" with the participation of leading historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, members of the public and government agencies are held. The first volume of the encyclopedia "Sacred Kazakhstan" with authentic scientific materials about the main objects in the regions was released. In addition, a virtual map has been formed for the study of sacred places, which allows you to watch 3D tours online. Along with this, together with BBC World News, Discovery, Viasat Nistory and National Geographic, a cycle of films about our sacred sites has been released.

Mukhamediuly reminded that in April 2018, three republican museum-reserves “Bozok,” “Botai” and “Sarayshyk” were opened in order to form a cultural, spiritual and tourist cluster of the Northern, Western regions and the city of Astana. Work has begun on the construction of visitor centers in the Ulytau, Otrar and Tanbaly reserve museums.