ASTANA – Almaty hosted the 22nd Kazakhstan International Tourism and Travel Fair (KITF) from April 24 to 26, serving as a comprehensive professional platform for the tourism industry in Central Asia. The exhibition began with a plenary session featuring insights from tourism industry experts from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan.
Plenary session “Successful cases in international tourism practice”. Photo: kitf.kz
This year the event brought together 406 companies from 28 countries. Exhibitors include tour operators and travel agencies, airlines and air transport agencies, national and regional tourism organizations, hotel service providers, health and medical centers, IT developers and international real estate organizations.
The program for KITF 2024 included sessions led by industry experts analyzing the year’s trends, aviation industry marketing and trade, international tourism success stories, influence marketing, introducing new destinations and travel approaches, as well as presentations and partner meetings.
During the plenary session on April 25, experts exchanged experiences and recommendations for mutual support.
Partner meetings at the KITF 2024 exhibition. Photo: kitf.kz
In a joint promotion proposal between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Fidan Akhundzadeh, head of the Cooperation Sector with CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Asian countries of the Tourism Bureau of Azerbaijan, suggested that they mutually promote their tourism products in priority markets such as China, India and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and targeting advertising efforts within the celebration of the common Turkish holiday Nowruz.
However, Mikhail Koplataze, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in Georgia, notes the importance of market diversification and advertising not only in existing target markets but also in new ones to achieve long-term results.
Among ongoing cooperation efforts, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are cooperating on mutual acceptance of visa-free country lists to improve the convenience of foreign tourists crossing the joint borders, said Saidikram Niyazhodzhaev, Uzbek ambassador to Kazakhstan.
As many foreign tourists visit Central Asian countries through Kazakhstan, Kudret Taichabarov, president of the Kyrgyz Republic Tourism Development Support Fund, suggested increasing the capacity of Almaty International Airport to influence the total number of arrivals and clarify the goal of the visit when crossing the border to obtain more accurate statistics on the inflow of tourism.
One of the indicators reflecting the priorities of the countries in the tourism industry is the number of people employed in the sector.
According to Kairat Sadvakasov, chairman of the Kazakh National Tourism Company, 200 people work in Kazakhstan’s tourism industry, including in the regions. By comparison, the tourism sector in the Kyrgyz Republic employs 300 people, Adjara in Georgia employs 500, excluding other regions, and Azerbaijan, including state agencies and subordinate institutions, employs 2,000.
Despite the relatively small number of public sector employees compared to Kazakhstan’s neighbors and limited funding, Sadvakasov agrees with Koplataze that the effects of any tourism efforts are visible in a few years.
All the speakers noted that hospitality, shared history, Turkish roots and mutual communication will bring them together to attract international tourists.
