00:00Welcome to EastWestConnect.
00:28We're highlighting business and economic developments in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region, connecting with Europe and beyond.
00:35To sustain the growth of tourism, Kazakhstan launched the new Nomad Visa, giving citizens of 48 countries, including 14 EU member states, a one-year stay to work remotely and travel.
00:47The government is building three new airports in the resort areas of Zaysan, Katon Karagai and Kenderle, with direct flights planned from Almaty, Astana and other major cities.
00:58Tourism investments rose 20% to 1.6 billion euros last year.
01:04A hundred new hotels opened and revenues grew nearly 30%.
01:07Kazakhstan is developing agri-, business-, shopping-, event- and ecotourism.
01:12Kazakhstan's President Kassimzha Martukaev recently raised concerns about the state of the country's tourist destinations, pointing to a lack of basic infrastructure and amenities.
01:23To explore possible solutions, we're joined by Daniel Serzhan-Oly, acting chairman of the national company Kazakh Tourism.
01:33Mr. Serzhan-Oly, welcome.
01:35Thank you. It's my pleasure.
01:36What is your target number for foreign tourists, and how are you working to overcome the headwinds?
01:42Within the national development plan, we're a clear target set, 15 million tourists annually.
01:48To support this idea, we work in four main directions.
01:54First, of course, it's air connectivity, with, thanks to our OpenSky regime, more than 20 new routes opened recently, and 30 more are coming years.
02:06Next is Viseweave regime.
02:08Maybe you know that now, currently, 87 countries in our Viseweave list.
02:13Third is, of course, it's a modernization of the infrastructure, both in natural and historical sites.
02:21Today, I want to share with you, of the beaten track.
02:24First is, uh, Katon-Katagai National Park, in the very eastern, most of the point of our country.
02:31It's the biggest national park.
02:32The second is Bikonur Cosmodrome.
02:35It's a place from where humankind first touched the space.
02:41And, uh, today, we are opening this destination to the travelers.
02:47And, last but not least, is the ultimate ultra-trail hiking route near Almaty, which will be stretching for 1,200 kilometers, starting from Almaty to the border with Kruistan, the Kursai Lakes.
03:04So, what new digital tools or platforms are being introduced to enhance travel experience and streamline services for tourists?
03:12Currently, we are working with the super-air, because when tourists arrive to the country, we should ensure that they will find verified services.
03:22So, currently, when you come to Almaty or Astana, you can just scan the QR code and get recommended services, like local ride or electronic SIM cards, electronic guides, and et cetera.
03:34So, we are now integrating all these things in one super-application, which will use AI-powered assistant with these bookings and events and other offerings.
03:47Mr. Sejan-Ele, thank you so much for being with us today.
03:50Thank you. It was my pleasure.
03:54Kazakhstan is developing a new tourist destination at Baikonur, the world's first and largest cosmodrome in the Kuzlardar region.
04:02Euronews has exclusive footage.
04:06Kazakhstan has transferred oversight of Gagarin's historic launch pad, site of the first human spaceflight in 1961, to its airspace committee, paving the way for tourism.
04:15Russia, which leases Baikonur Cosmodrome, returned the site in June, along with more than 50 decommissioned facilities.
04:21Kazakhstan now plans to turn them into a year-round tourist hub.
04:24Today is a historical moment.
04:26The Gagarin's start.
04:27The Russian side has sent us, the Kazakhstan side.
04:30We have sent this symbolical key to the company Inbracos, the aerospace committee, which will continue to develop tourism.
04:37The tourism plan for Baikonur is set for approval by September.
04:40Authorities will start by inspecting decommissioned sites for safety, aiming to restore landmarks like Gagarin's launch pad and the Energia Buran fueling complex as part of an open-air museum.
04:49New infrastructure, hotels, glamping, visitor centers, restaurants and a children's camp will follow.
04:54With expanded lodging, Baikonur could host up to 50,000 tourists a year by 2029, a five-fold increase from today.
05:00For now, rocket launches remain the main draw, with three already completed this year and three more scheduled by December.
05:22Access to Kazakhstan's remote tourist sites remains a challenge, but authorities say rail service is improving.
05:31Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has added 250 new railway carriages, with 226 more on the way this year.
05:40To walk us through how rail projects are boosting tourism, we're joined by Anwar Ahmirdzhanov, Deputy Chairman at the National Railway Company, Kazakhstan-Temirzhala.
05:49Mr. Ahmirdzhanov, welcome. Good to have you with us.
05:54Thank you.
05:55What steps are being taken to improve rail access to some of the country's more remote tourist destinations?
06:02We are adding some trains for Balkhash destination, for the lake tourists.
06:09We have some additional trains to Burabai, it's a nearest location for Astana citizens.
06:15And we have special trains, about 11 trains every year we add to Alakol destination.
06:21It's lake tourism in Kazakhstan.
06:23These are the common ways of developing the tourist locations, but we have the new product, and we started it last year.
06:31We have a special tourist train from Kazakhstan to Central Asia, connecting Almaty, Turkestan, and the pearls of Central Asia, like Tashkent, Bukhara, and Samarkand.
06:40The tourists, they travel during the night time, and then during the daytime they have the opportunity to have a sightseeing of the major cities.
06:48We see that the great potential lies on the Chinese markets, and this year we made the first trip from China to Kazakhstan, so we organized the first Chinese-Kazakhstan train.
06:59More than 250 Chinese tourists came to Almaty.
07:02At the same time, since we have this Central Asian train, I mean, the Jibbek Zholi, the Silkway train, so we want to connect Chinese train with Central Asian train.
07:11So Chinese tourists will come from China, then spend two, three days in Almaty, then they can use our Jibbek Zholi train to go to Central Asia.
07:18So it will connect China, Kazakhstan, and Central Asian states.
07:21What measures are being introduced to make cross-border rail travel between Kazakhstan and its neighbors more comfortable and accessible for tourists?
07:29In our trains, what we did, for example, if there is a border control, they can do it inside the train.
07:34So there is no need to go out of the train, so the border control personnel will come into the train, and during 15-20 minutes they can check all the documents and allow the tourists to enter another country.
07:48Very insightful. Thank you, Mr. Akhnejana, for being with us.
07:51Thank you. It was a pleasure.
07:54That's all for now. See you in the next episode of EastWestConnect.
07:59EastWestConnect.
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