A status of ‘Modern nomad’ in Kazakhstan can be awarded to a traveler who visited 20 top locations in 17 regions and three megacities of the country. However, the tourist needs not just to go there, but to fulfill the main condition, which is taking a picture against the background of a special photo frame installed at those locations and posting it on social media with a hashtag “Neonomad2022”. The first such photo spot has already been installed right in the center of the Kazakh capital on the main city boulevard – Nurly Zhol.
“This campaign is only the first step, we will start with the frames and then we will come up with some more quests. These are the elements of gamification. Today, we are doing a ‘collect 20 photo frames’ project, and tomorrow it could be ‘visit a certain number of national parks’ or ‘hashtag how you clean up the garbage in national parks’ campaigns. At present, the frames have been installed in only a few cities so far, but we are receiving help from the mayoral offices and private partners. They promise that all 20 photo spots will be installed by the first of August,” Talgat Amanbayev, Chairperson of the Kazakh Tourism National Company, said.
One of the first participants to join the “Neonomad 2022” campaign was 72-year-old traveler Sarsenbai Kotyrashоv. The first thing he did upon arrival to Nur-Sultan on foot was visit the new attraction and take a photo there. Presently, a unique location right in the heart of the capital attracts hundreds of residents and tourists every day. They say that similar art objects greatly decorate and ennoble the appearance of the city.
“I think tourists are just like nomads. I was so pleasantly surprised now, when I saw tourists who came from Bashkiria and Russia to visit Baiterek. I was very pleased. I’ve lived in Nur-Sultan for five years, from 2007 to 2012, and I want to note how beautiful my city has become. I love our capital so much,” said tourist Gulnara Balgulanova.
“Nomadism is life itself and being a traveler implies a unique lifestyle. We had such a rather large Kazakh trip. So we were in Zhetikara and in Almaty, passed Karagandy, and arrived in Nur-Sultan,” said tourist from Russia Madina Oksukbayeva.
The Kazakh Tourism company promised to give the winners and participants of the campaign valuable gifts and awards. The results will be announced at the end of the year. However, the project will not end there as it is planned to be made permanent. This means that absolutely everyone can compete for the status of a ‘Modern Nomad’.
