BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 30. Tourists from Kazakhstan are showing increasing interest in visiting Azerbaijan, head of International Markets Department of Kazakh Tourism National Company Ainura Zhumatayeva told Trend in an exclusive interview.
“In 2022-2023, the number of tourists traveling from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan grew 1.7 times, nearly doubling from 59,000 in 2022 to 99,000 in 2023. Additionally, there is a rising interest among Kazakhstani tourists in visiting Azerbaijan. This surge is largely attributed to the effective event management in Azerbaijan, which brings in many world stars, particularly attracting the younger generation of Kazakhstan to visit Baku,” she said.
According to Zhumatayeva, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have a tight bond in the tourism arena.
“Kazakh Tourism frequently collaborates with airlines, including the national carrier Air Astana and low-cost carrier FlyArystan. For instance, last year we had a joint project with the Azerbaijani AZAL airline for its inaugural flight. During the Novruz holiday, we supported the airline's first flight and brought a group of bloggers and journalists to visit Kazakhstan, particularly Almaty and the Almaty region,” said the head of the department.
Speaking about tourism development in Kazakhstan, Zhumatayeva noted that last month, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev steered a meeting that had its sights set on this topic.
“This is a significant event for us, as the head of state also emphasizes the importance of developing tourism. The president has identified three main regions for tourism development: the Almaty mountain cluster, which registers half a million tourist arrivals; the Shchuchinsk-Borovoye resort zone; and beach tourism in Aktau. Kazakh Tourism plans to support the development of these three regions. These areas are currently prioritized to create the necessary ecosystem for tourists, including good roads, restaurants, excursions, and more,” she said.
According to her, allocating resources towards human capital is equally crucial as developing physical infrastructure.
“It is imperative that we have tour guides and tourism administrators on staff in every area so that we can welcome a flood of visitors,” she concluded.
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