Citizens from 80 foreign countries can visit Kazakhstan without a visa, and nationals from an additional 109 countries can apply for an electronic visa, as stated during a meeting on October 31, chaired by Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov.

In the first half of the year, over three million Kazakh citizens traveled within the country, marking a 400,000 increase from the previous year, as reported by Minister of Tourism and Sports Yermek Marzhikpayev.

Projections suggest that by the end of the year, domestic tourists will total nine million.

Additionally, the number of foreign tourists doubled in the first half, surpassing 500,000, and is expected to reach 1.4 million by year-end.

Over nine months, the tourism sector in Kazakhstan attracted investments totaling 404.8 billion Tenge (approximately US$860 million), which represents a 44% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.

Prime Minister Smailov noted that the government should focus on developing the country’s tourism potential.

“We need breakthrough projects in the tourism sector. Over the past three years, investments worth $4 billion have been attracted to the industry. More than 400 facilities have been built, and nearly 7,000 permanent jobs have been created,” he said.

Smailov identified obstacles to the industry’s growth, such as insufficient infrastructure, limited accommodations, and inadequate logistics and service quality. He stressed the importance of addressing these issues in response to complaints and recommendations from tourists and urged mayors and governors to take action for effective infrastructure development.

Smailov directed government agencies to create roadmaps for the development of the top 20 priority tourist destinations and devise strategies for promoting agrotourism, ecotourism, and cultural tourism.

“All local historical monuments, picturesque natural landscapes, and other historical heritage need to be properly integrated into tourism products,” he said.

Prime Minister Smailov emphasized the need for measures to enhance tourist safety, promote Kazakhstan’s tourism potential internationally, and implement a plan for digitizing the tourism industry and improving service quality. He also highlighted the importance of simplifying the experience for foreign tourists and digitizing domestic tourism services.