ASTANA – At the 18th Annual East Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Exhibition (EMITT) on Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, Kazakhstan’s display, “Kazakhstan: The Land of Wonders,” was named “Most Authentic.”
The Committee of Tourism of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan, headed by Chairman Marat Igali, along with delegations from Astana, Almaty, southern Kazakhstan, the Zhambyl region and the western regions of Atyrau and Mangystau, presented Kazakhstan’s display.
Kazakhstan was represented by musicians in traditional Kazakh costumes playing the national musical instruments dombra, shankobyz, sazsyrnai, daulpaz, sousyldyr and artisans who offered classes on making felt crafts.
The Kazakh delegation also unveiled plans for the development of EXPO 2017, one of the major international exhibitions to be hosted by Kazakhstan in 2017. The plans include new tourism-related services in Kazakhstan.
During the visit, the Kazakh delegation signed several agreements with large Turkish companies specialising in promoting medical tourism.
“Healthcare and medical insurance are very developed in Turkey,” a head of division at the Committee of Tourism Industry Renatolla Edil stated. “We have signed several agreements with large Turkish companies. In the future, they’re planning to take part in extended meetings in our ministries. They would like to help Kazakhstan develop medical tourism,” Edil said.
Turkey hosted over 600,000 medical tourists in 2013 and that number is increasing every season. The newly renovated medical centres equipped with the latest technology offer treatment at more affordable prices than in Europe. This same concept could be applied to Kazakhstan.
In 2013, the exhibition attracted58,920 tourism professionals and 72,080 visitors from 67 countries. Those participants included some of Turkey’s top travel agencies. This year, the event attracted more than 150,000 participants and visitors.
