ASTANA (TCA) — At the meeting of the Kazakh Government chaired by Prime Minister Askar Mamin on March 12, a draft State Program for the Development of the Tourism Industry for 2019-2025 was approved, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reports.
According to the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the adoption of the State Program for the Development of the Tourism Industry for 2019-2025 and the accompanying draft law will make it possible for Kazakhstan to join the 50 countries most attractive for travel.
The state program includes 10 systemic measures with a significant socio-economic effect.
According to the ministry, it is planned to create priority tourist areas and management companies in the TOP-10 of the most attractive tourist places, which will allow implementing more than 200 investment projects.
The state program also proposes the development of specially protected natural territories with the involvement of business for the development of tourism infrastructure.
Another measure is the construction of sanitary facilities in tourist destinations within the framework of public-private partnership.
For the marketing and promotion of Kazakhstan on the world map of tourism, it is planned to introduce a tourist fee — a “Bed Tax” — from foreign citizens of about 2-4 dollars per night. The measure will take effect throughout Kazakhstan from the moment the state program is adopted.
Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly also said that the draft state program pays special attention to the liberalization of the visa regime. A set of measures will be implemented here from the optimization of the introduced e-Visa mechanism to the expansion of 72-hour visa-free transit.
One of the points of the state program is the introduction of a mandatory classification of placements based on the standards of five stars. This measure will contribute to improving the quality of service and the availability of tourist products in Kazakhstan.
The State Program also provides for the improvement of the work of checkpoints at Kazakhstan borders, as well as the introduction of the TaxFree system from 2022 following the experience of the European Union countries, Australia, Thailand, Singapore and some CIS countries. Thanks to this measure, many developed countries have increased not only trade momentum, but also shopping tourist flows.
Prime Minister Askar Mamin noted that the Head of State has repeatedly emphasized the great importance of the development of tourism.
According to preliminary estimates, as a result of the implementation of the State Program for the Development of the Tourism Industry of Kazakhstan until 2025:
– the share of the tourism industry in GDP will reach 8% by 2025;
– investments in the development of tourism in the next 7 years will reach 2 trillion tenge;
– about 200 thousand new jobs will be created, including 72 thousand permanent ones;
– the number of tourists will increase from 7 to 15 million people per year.
The Prime Minister noted that the tourism sector should become a driver of the economy of Kazakhstan.
The Ministry of Culture and Sports has been tasked to submit the draft State Program for approval to the Government after coordinating with the Head of State.
