Kazakhstan aims to boost tourism revenue and attract more tourists, with $860 million in investments already in 2023, a 44% increase from last year.
According to Yermerk Marzhikpayev, minister of tourism and sports, over three million Kazakh citizens travelled within the country in the first half of the year, and the goal is to attract 9 million domestic tourists and 1.4 million foreign tourists by the end of 2023.
The Minister of Tourism and Sports emphasised the importance of integrating historical monuments and natural landscapes into tourism products, as well as simplifying the stay of foreign tourists and digitising services.
In efforts to attract more foreign tourists, Kazakhstan announced that Nigerians can enter the country without visas for short stays, as long as they obtain electronic travel authorization.
Recent reports from the Astana Times show that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president of Kazakhstan also met with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey to discuss strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two nations.
He expressed gratitude to the Turkish leader for his significant actions taken during the OTS summit.
According to the media platform, both presidents acknowledged the successful execution of agreements, leading to a substantial 54% growth in bilateral trade, reaching $6.3 billion in the previous year.
Their aim was to further elevate this number to $10 billion. Tokayev highlighted that Kazakhstan currently hosts more than 4,300 companies with Turkish investments, demonstrating the active progress in investment collaboration.
Erdoğan expressed his gratitude to Tokayev for the well-coordinated organization of the summit. He also commended his decision to construct a school in the Nurdağı district of the Gaziantep province, which was impacted by the earthquake on Feb. 6.
Erdoğan assured that this school will hold significant meaning as a symbol of the strong bond between Turkey and Kazakhstan for generations to come.
Moreover, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan discussed their strategic partnership and progress on various joint projects.
During the anniversary summit, Kazakhstan awarded the Supreme Order of Turkic World to the President of Uzbekistan for his contributions to Turkic unity.
Tokayev also met with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan.
He highlighted the significance of this meeting in strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Source : Businessday