More than 130 thousand foreign tourists visited Almaty in this year

Last three years, the number of foreign tourists has grown by 14%. Only in the first quarter of Almaty, more than 130 thousand people visited from South Korea, India, Russia, China, Turkey, the United States and Germany. At the same time about 80% of the tourist flow comes to the remaining three quarters.

According to the deputy of the city Asel Zhunusova, active inflow of tourists was boosted by the international exhibition "EXPO-2017", the World University, Eurasian week the OECD, as well as international music and sports festivals like «Star of Asia», «Spirit of Tengri», « Uly dala oyyndary", "Almaty Marathon" and "Tour of Almaty".

"Today 87% of the city's economy are services, but the share of tourism in the GRP of Almaty is only 1.5%. In order to develop the tourist potential of the metropolis, a master plan for mountain tourism in the Almaty metropolitan area has been developed, including Medeu, Shymbulak, Almatau and Butakovka. This year, it is planned to complete construction of world-class hotels Kempinski and Novotel, as well as various boutique hotels and hostels. Until the end of the year, the regional UN KhAB will open for 14 international agencies. According to the experience of Paris, Istanbul, Bangkok, we know that this significantly increases the influx of foreign tourists and the recognition of the city at the international level," Asul Zhunusova said.

She also noted that today more and more tourists choose the possibility of independent travel, when a person plans to rest with special web-platforms.

"Every day there is a growing interest in Almaty as a destination on the world platform TripAdvisor, where the number of views about the city has increased from 465 to 66,824 requests. Mostly it is visited by citizens of the United States, Russia, Britain, India and Germany," she added.

In turn, deputy mayor of the city Murat Daribayev told about the process of work on the modernization of transport hubs as the main tourist "gateway" to the city of Almaty.

According to him, next month all long-distance and international flights will run only from the bus station "Sayran". Work has already begun on the reconstruction of the building, the improvement of the adjacent territory and the modernization of the transport and logistics infrastructure.

"All illegal designs are demolished. It is planned to carry out restoration work on the facade part of the building, as well as reorganize the zone for taxis and expand international communications. The issue of organization of a local tourist center in the building, where the city tour operators are working with the near and far abroad will be discussed. We are negotiating with international brands to locate catering facilities in the bus station building," Murat Daribayev reported.

In addition, together with the "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy", work is under way to reconstruct the railway stations "Almaty-1" and "Almaty-2". The launch of a short-term rental service for 200 cars is planned. If last year 479 units of public transport were purchased in Almaty, then this year 569 new buses will be purchased.

During the meeting, participants drew attention to the need to streamline the activities of entrepreneurs offering short-term housing: "Today, along the main streets are people and offer accommodation for rent. At the same time, the sphere is not transparent, often they do not pay taxes. Maybe you need to do all this legally, since they are offering their apartments. Organize a single point, create conditions for them. Let them work, but officially. "

In addition, the issue of certification of buses used by travel companies to move tourists will be considered. This measure is aimed at improving the security and quality of the services provided.

At the meeting, the director of the Kazakhstan Tourism Association Rashida Shaikenova also raised the issue of the lawfulness of charging money from tourists for photos and video shooting in the territory of the Ile-Alatau Park.

Director General of the Ile-Alatau Park Damir Malgeldiev, who attended the meeting, said that payment is foreseen only for conducting a commercial survey. In the event that the park inspector insists on paying visitors, it is necessary to contact the administration for action. According to him, the directorate developed a concept for further development of the Ile-Alatau Park, which will be examined in detail by members of the Public Council of Almaty.

Recall that in order to create a comfortable urban environment this summer in Almaty, over 150 streets will be renovated and about 600 yards will be landscaped. Major overhaul will cover all underground passages, reconstruction and construction of new fountains are planned. Completely renovate a number of avenues of the metropolis in addition to the previously upgraded street Panfilov, Zhibek Zholy, Gogol, Kabanbay Batyr Baiseitova Tolebayev and square "Astana".