Baku, Azerbaijan, July 3
Trend:
The Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan plans to increase the share of tourism in GDP to 8 percent by 2025 and attract up to 13 million tourists per year, Kazinform reported.
"An ambitious goal to increase the share of GDP in tourism from 1 percent in 2016 to 8 percent by 2025 has been set," Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly said.
The minister noted that, more than seven million visitors attended the EXPO event in Kazakhstan, which is 18 percent more than in the previous years. At the same time, each tourist left $50-350 in the country's economy.
The work is underway since the beginning of the year to introduce electronic visas in order to maintain this effect — citizens of 67 countries have the right to visa-free travel to Kazakhstan for tourism purposes.
A 72-hour visa-free transit for citizens of China and India, passing through Almaty and Astana has been introduced till the end of 2018.
The minister noted that 60 tourist "magnets" capable of attracting tourists have been selected to identify existing and potential drivers of tourism growth in Kazakhstan. The Medeo Sports Complex, the Shymbulak (Chimbulak) ski resort, the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmet Yasawi and other famous tourist sites are among such “magnets”.