Kazakh domestic tourism sets new records. Last year, almost seven million Kazakh residents visited the country's popular attractions. This is 35 percent more than in 2020 and five percent more than the pre-pandemic level, said Spokesperson for the Kazakh Tourism national company Yernur Kenzhebekov. According to him, the growth of travel within the country is primarily due to the increased attention of residents to the country's national parks.
“The national parks have become absolute champions in terms of tourist arrivals in previous years. People began to actively visit natural sites, which are primarily located in the Almaty mountain cluster. In addition, Burabai, Bayanauyl, and the national parks of Kokshetau and Karkaraly, all these national parks reported record visits last year. Moreover, such new destinations as Mangystau and Turkistan are also developing very rapidly,” said Yernur Kenzhebekov, a spokesperson of the Kazakh Tourism.
The interest of domestic tourists in attractions located in three new regions of the country is also growing exponentially.
“There are already ready-made tourist offers for these destinations. For example, in Semei’s Abai region, people can go to the birthplace of great Abai, and visit a number of tourist sites along the way. After that, they can go to the Konyr-Auliye cave and so on. I mean, there are a lot of places that tourists would be interested to visit. They can either organize the trip on their own or turn to tour operators. Especially now there is a state support measure, like Kids Go Free, which allows residents to travel on a family vacation and save money on children's flight tickets and so on,” added Kenzhebekov.
The Kids Go Free program was launched in Kazakhstan this year. It allows children from two to 14 years old to fly for free to the main tourist destinations of the country. As the Kazakh Tourism previously reported, the implementation of the program will allow the Kazakh families to reduce the cost of their vacation by an average of 30 percent.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
