For the third consecutive year, Romania is presenting its tourism concept for Romania and Europe at KITF—the International Tourism Fair in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

A high-level meeting was held with Mr. Talgat Gazizov, President of the national tourism company Kazakh National Tourism.

Starting today, Romania is once again participating in the KITF exhibition in Almaty (Kazakhstan), now in its 24th edition. The event brings together exhibitors from numerous countries, including national pavilions from Georgia, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Azerbaijan, as well as an impressive lineup of hotels and resorts promoting their services during the fair.

Corina Martin, Vice President – Secretary General of FPIOR and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Romania:

“Two years ago, I first proposed to the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, as well as to my colleagues in the industry, that we begin promoting Romania on an extremely important tourism market that had not previously been explored. I would like to thank the Minister, Mr. Irineu Darău, as well as our colleagues — representatives of the hospitality sector and tour operators who are here with us, along with OMD Constanța County and OMD Constanța – Mamaia, who are also participating this year. We continue to rely on the opportunities and the importance of promoting Romanian tourist destinations on the Kazakh market through Romania’s participation in this exhibition.”

Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area has turned the country into one of the key destinations at this year’s edition of the exhibition. Tour operators from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and other Asian countries are showing strong interest and are visiting Romania’s stand in large numbers, as in previous years. Cyprus has become the second European country represented at the exhibition alongside Romania for the first time, viewing Kazakhstan and Central Asia as an emerging market with significant potential.

While at tourism fairs in Europe Romania is often just one of many participating countries and competes with large-scale stands from destinations with significantly bigger promotion budgets, at the exhibition in Kazakhstan Romania stands out as a “star” destination, serving as a gateway to the European tourism experience.

In addition, the costs associated with Romania’s participation in this exhibition are among the lowest compared to other international tourism fairs.

The largest foreign investment in Romania includes several thousand Kazakh employees working at the Petromidia (Năvodari) and Vega (Ploiești) refineries. They are visited each year by relatives, families, and friends who, upon returning home, share their experiences of Romania’s nature, landscapes, traditions, and unique tourist attractions — including Bran Castle, Peleș Castle in Sinaia, the Transfăgărășan Highway, Transylvania, the Danube Delta, and the multicultural region of Dobrogea with its diverse coastline, as well as the Ana Aslan wellness treatments, considered among the most sought-after.

Today, we also held an official bilateral meeting with Mr. Talgat Gazizov, President of JSC Kazakh National Tourism, during which we presented the current stage of cooperation in developing tourism flows between Romania and Kazakhstan, now in its third year.

Together with representatives of MEDAT, we highlighted the potential for expanding cooperation and presented proposals that generated genuine interest on the Kazakh side. In the coming weeks, work will continue on a memorandum and on defining concrete steps for its implementation.

Furthermore, as LOT Polish Airlines is launching a direct flight between Warsaw and Almaty for the first time this year, and given the strong air connectivity between the Polish capital and cities in Romania, the organization of the first info tour for Romanian tour operators in Almaty has been announced, along with a reciprocal info tour for Kazakh tour operators in Romania — in partnership with LOT.

In the near future, a working meeting will take place with the Chairman of the Almaty Tourism Organization to establish two joint promotional initiatives.

At present, the Port of Constanța has become a key hub for cargo transportation between the Caucasus region and Western Europe, leading to a significant increase in business travel between Kazakhstan and Romania. In this context, Kazakh officials and businesspeople are discovering Romania — a country previously underrepresented on this market — and are increasingly motivated to return as leisure tourists.

In this regard, a new official meeting is scheduled with SCAT Airlines to continue discussions on the potential launch of a direct flight between Romania and Kazakhstan — a strategic objective that requires support at the level of the relevant ministries of both countries.

It is essential to maintain a consistent presence on this niche yet promising market in order to attract Kazakh tourists to Romania’s cities and destinations. Business travelers are also tourists; however, the level of awareness about Romania in this market remains relatively low.

The Romania stand features Ana Hotels Europa with its Ana Health Spa wellness center, Hotel Turquoise All Inclusive, as well as the tour operator Mistral Tours, specializing in inbound tourism from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Federation of Employers in the Romanian Hospitality Industry promotes destinations from 32 counties across the country, while OMD Constanța County, OMD Constanța – Mamaia, and the RESTO Constanța Association support the promotion of the Romanian seaside within the exhibition.

This year, the symbol of the Romania stand is the Constanța Casino.

Throughout the first part of the day, numerous meetings were held with tour operators, and preliminary results indicate an increase in tourism flows between the two countries, particularly through the growth of organized groups and tour packages bringing Kazakh tourists to Romania.