The Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Miras Tulebayev, met with the residents of Almaty region

On April 12, 2024, in the administrative center of Almaty region – the Qonaev town, a meeting was held between the Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Miras Tulebayev, and the local residents. The meeting was attended by the head of the of Recreation Geography and Tourism Department, R.V. Plokhikh, and senior lecturer M.A. Khozhaev.

During the meeting, Mr. Tulebayev spoke about the activities of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan in recent years. He emphasized that in 2023, tourism in the country not only recovered from the pandemic but also showed growth in key indicators. He noted, “The country received 9.2 million foreign visitors, of which 1.1 million were tourists. Additionally, 9.6 million Kazakhstanis traveled within the country for tourism purposes. Tax revenues from tourism increased by 64 billion tenge compared to 2022, reaching 453 billion tenge. It is expected that the number of foreign tourists will increase to 1.7 million this year”.

The speaker also highlighted the Almaty region, which he believes “holds leading positions: it serviced 408 thousand people, of which 3.9 thousand were foreign tourists. The volume of services provided amounted to 8.8 billion tenge. In 2023, the total investment in Kazakhstan's tourism reached 787.3 billion tenge, of which 63.4 billion tenge was allocated to the Almaty Region. This allowed it to take the fourth place in the country. In 2024, it is planned to implement 9 investment projects worth 22.8 billion tenge, including the construction of a visitor center, the “Olsizim” recreation area, and the Sokol sports and technical complex (racetrack)…”.

During his speech, the speaker also emphasized the growing popularity of ecotourism. According to him, Kazakhstan’s national parks attracted over 2.4 million visitors just in 2023, with almost half of them visiting the parks in the Almaty region.

Returning to the work of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of youth physical education and sports, Mr. Tulebayev noted the following: “For example, the proportion of children and adolescents engaged in physical education and sports reached 27.3 %, which is more than 984 thousand people. One of the successful projects is the per capita funding of sports sections. For 2024, local authorities allocated about 38 billion tenge for the activities of more than 240 thousand children and adolescents. In Kazakhstan, there are 510 youth sports schools where over 400 thousand children are engaged. This number is growing annually…”. The speaker emphasized that the country has created conditions to support talented athletes and form a sports reserve. One of the key tasks of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the successful performance at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Mr. Tulebayev said, “At the moment, Kazakhstan has 31 licenses in 11 sports. Among the candidates for the Olympics is Asem Orynbay, the World Cup champion in clay pigeon shooting. Her coaches are confident that she only needs to pass one more qualifying tournament…”.

During an open dialogue, the Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed questions posed by the meeting participants. Many of them represented the business community, highlighting current issues in the tourism sector. One of the topics raised during the meeting concerned the gambling business. Participants discussed regulatory and developmental issues in the industry, as well as potential collaborations between the government and private sector to support and stimulate tourism. The theme of promoting sports among the population sparked active discussion. Participants talked about the need to develop initiatives to attract more people to sports activities, as well as measures to support sports events and infrastructure. The Vice Minister attentively listened to the opinions and suggestions of the participants, emphasizing the importance of active collaboration between the Government, Business, and Society for the development of the tourism and sports sectors in the Republic of Kazakhstan.