Kazakhstan plans to extend its visa-free regime to citizens of 100 countries in order to further promote the country's tourism sector. This announcement was made at the Forum on tourism development in Kazakhstanheld on September 15 in Aktau.
New ambitions for Kazakh tourism
At the forum, Kazakhstani government officials, together with representatives from the tourism sector and other high-level participants, met to discuss ways of improving the local tourism industry. In particular, the Minister of Tourism and Sports Ermek Marzhikpayev said that the tourism sector should be seen as one of the driving forces behind the economy.
Recalling President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's address on September 1, Marzhikpayev stressed the importance attached by the Head of State to promoting the tourism sector.
Statistics on visitors to Kazakhstan
According to data presented at the forum, it is estimated that over 3.2 million domestic tourists and over 500,000 foreign tourists visited Kazakhstan in the first half of this year.
Measures taken to support the development of tourism in the country include visa facilitation and an increase in the number of direct flights. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko also pointed out that Kazakhstan ranked 66th out of 117 countries in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Development Index.
Expanding the list of visa-free countries
Currently, citizens of 45 countries, including all members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Union (EU) countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Singapore and Monaco have been able to visit Kazakhstan visa-free for up to 30 days since 2017.
- In 2019, the country has added further nations to this list, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Qatar to reach 80 countries.
- Kazakhstan's open skies policy, which allows foreign airlines to operate unlimited flights on certain roads, has been extended until 2027.
Towards diversification of the Kazakh economy
President Tokayev's new economic vision emphasizes economic diversification and the development of manufacturing. In addition to the tourism sector, Kazakhstan also aims to become a major transit center in Eurasia by developing its transport infrastructure, notably the Trans-Caspian international transport route.
An attractive tourist experience
As well as its impressive scenery, Kazakhstan has a rich cultural history dating back thousands of years and is renowned for the warm hospitality typical of Central Asia.. The expansion of the visa-free regime should attract even more visitors to this highly promising country.
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