"Almaty Tourism Bureau" activates work to promote the city at the world level

The "Tourist Information Center of Almaty" has been reorganized into the "Almaty Tourism Bureau". The organization expands the range of goals and objectives, moving from informing to promoting Almaty as a tourist destination. Work is being intensified to expand international tourist ties and increase interest in Almaty around the world.

With the participation of the Almaty Development Bureau, the booths in the passport control area at Almaty International Airport have recently been updated, where arriving guests are now greeted with greetings in nine popular world languages: Kazakh, Russian, English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Turkish and Korean. For easy navigation, 52 information totems have been installed at the central city intersections, where, in addition to the map, information about popular tourist routes is contained.

As part of the work to develop the tourism potential of Almaty, this year employees of transport hub services and industry specialists who directly interact with tourists will be trained in English and the basics of hospitality. Together with JSC NC Kazakh Tourism, the Quality Mark program is being implemented, aimed at improving the quality of tourist services and carried out in three main areas — tour operator activities, accommodation and catering facilities. The "Quality mark" is awarded to organizations that meet the requirements of the program based on national standards. The next stage is planned to introduce the Recommended by Visit Almaty regional standard.

By the way, Visit Almaty is a tourist brand of the city, which is actively promoted by the Almaty Tourism Bureau together with the Almaty Tourism Department. For the convenience of tourists, there are 10 Visit Almaty information points in the city, where you can get professional advice about interesting tours, leisure recommendations and other useful information about Almaty and its surroundings, including maps, guidebooks, mountain route atlases, tour operator brochures.

"If earlier the Tourist Information Center was mainly informational and consulting in nature, now the Almaty Tourism Bureau has become a real project office for the promotion of a destination with an emphasis on marketing communications, taking into account the latest trends in tourism," Kamila Lukpanova, head of the Almaty Tourism Bureau, said during the official opening.

The key role for Almaty Tourism Bureau is also played by the expansion of online opportunities to ensure more effective interaction with tourists and partners abroad. Active interaction with the world media, partnership with the International Association of Congresses and Conferences (International Congress and Convention Association, ICCA). The Bureau comprehensively supports initiatives/events in Almaty (Journalism Day, Toyla music festival, Almaty Marathon, City Day, Arba Wine Harvest Festival, festivals and concerts).

The main indicators of the Bureau's work are providing comfort, safety and vivid impressions for travelers that they will want to experience again and again.

Recall that the "Tourist Information Center of Almaty" was established in 2017. Over 5 years of operation, 10 information points have been opened, in which more than 100 thousand tourists have been served. TIC took part in major international exhibitions and events, becoming the winner in the international competition World Travel Awards 2019 in the nomination Asia's Leading City Break Destination 2019: Almaty, Kazakhstan. The measures taken above have affected the increase in the tourist flow by more than 2 times.