ASTANA – Experience shows that hosting large-scale events, such as EXPO 2017, helps develop not only the tourist industry but other areas of the economy, General Manager of the Marketing and Promotion Department of Astana EXPO 2017 National Company Daniel Serzhanuly announced during a press conference held in the Central Communications Service July 31.
Photo credit: ortcom.kz
“A tourist spends money on plane and train tickets, accommodation, food, transportation and all that money will remain with citizens of Kazakhstan,” he said. One traveler leaves around $1,500 in the visited country and provides jobs for about six to 12 people, Serzhanuly said.
“Different areas of the economy and citizens of the country will receive additional income during the EXPO 2017 exhibition as its indirect effect,” he added, while noting the importance spreading the event’s impact beyond the capital city.
Tourism agencies of Kazakhstan are currently developing new tours for visitors to the EXPO exhibition that will attract tourists to the country’s regions, consultant of Astana EXPO 2017 Roza Assanbayeva stated during the same press conference.
“It is being planned that guests of the exhibition will not only visit Astana, but also other regions of Kazakhstan, Assanbayeva said. According to her, the main flux of tourists will fall to the Borovoe resort that can be reached by the Astana-Schuchinsk motorway and the reconstructed Kokshetau airport.
The creation of new tourism offers is currently underway, reported ortcom.kz. “The ‘Orient Express’ train is expected to be launched under the EXPO 2017 brand along Kazakhstan’s territory of the Silk Road,” Assanbayeva stated. According to her, negotiations with the Air Astana company to include the visiting of exhibition pavilions into the ticket price to Astana are underway.
Both local and foreign tourism companies are observed to have a steady interest in the exhibition as several tour operators of Kazakhstan are interested to include exhibition tickets into their travel packages, Assanbayeva said at the press conference.
“One of the world’s largest tour operators, Touristic Union International (TUI), is interested in cooperating with our company,” the speaker added. The TUI German tour operator services more than 30 million customers per year in 180 countries and has over 1,800 travel agencies in Europe, ortcom.kz reported. Negotiations on the partnership that will allow selling Kazakhstan’s travel packages on European markets are under way currently, Assanbayeva stated.
According to her, the Astana EXPO 2017 national company is also forming new travel offers for the exhibition visitors. “New routes will have a ‘Recommended by EXPO’ sign and negotiations with major tourism websites, such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor to promote and sell the travel packages included in the new register are under way,” she said. The job will be carried out together with the recently established directorate Astana Convention Bureau operating at the capital city’s Akimat (municipal administration), ortcom.kz reported.
