ASTANA – Kazakh Tourism national company opened its first international office in India during South Asia’s largest international tourism exhibition, SATTE, on Feb. 22 in New Delhi, reported the company’s press service.
Kazakh Tourism Chairman Kairat Sadvakassov appointed Prashant Chaudhary, the head of Salvia Promoters, as the office’s representative in the Indian market, awarding the corresponding certificate.
Specializing in promoting the markets of Central Asia and Russia, Salvia has served as a visa center and promotion office for several cities and countries in the region.
Sadvakassov expressed his satisfaction at establishing a presence in India, “one of the most promising outbound tourism markets in the world,” outlining plans to scale this experience to other target markets.
Chaudhary expressed his pride in representing Kazakhstan in India. He described Kazakhstan as the “world’s largest landlocked country with diverse landscapes, lively city life and rich archaeological history.” He also noted that Kazakhstan presents itself as a great short-haul destination with visa-free travel and direct flight offers for Indian travelers.
“Other than Almaty, Indian travelers are now also traveling to Astana, Shymkent, which just comes to show off the untapped enormous potential Kazakhstan holds,” he said.
The agreement between the parties aims to foster collaboration to attract tourist groups from India to Kazakhstan and represent Kazakh Tourism’s interests in this significant outbound tourism market.
Chaudhary, a graduate of Tashkent State Technical University and fluent in Russian, has over 20 years of experience in promoting and marketing territories. His company annually organizes the arrival of Indian journalists to partner destinations, ensuring significant coverage in leading Indian newspapers and travel-themed magazines.
The SATTE exhibition witnessed the parties’ first joint activity. Now, they plan to organize the visit of Indian travel journalists to Kazakhstan in the first half of this year.
According to experts, the Indian outbound tourism market is expected to surpass 50 million tourists by 2026. Chaudhary notes that Kazakhstan could potentially be hosting up to 500,000 Indian tourists annually by that time.
In February, Almaty secured the top position as the most-searched holiday destination among Indian travelers in a publication by India Today.