Almaty most popular destination for foreign tourists arriving in Kazakhstan

According to the national statistics bureau, the number of tourists visiting Almaty exceeded 1.5 million in 9 months of 2023, which is 17.5% more compared to the previous year. The number of foreign tourists increased by 51.5% and reached almost 410,000.

As Galiya Toksseitova said, tax revenues from the tourism sector surged by 64% and reached 50.2 billion tenge. The number of people employed in the sector increased by 11% and 78,551. Investments also rose by 47.7% and reached 106.4 billion tenge.

The majority of the tourists – 34% or 138,961 people – are Russian nationals, 11.6% or 47,619 are Chinese, and 7% or 28,983 are Indians. 6.2% or 25,486 are the nationals of Türkiye, and 3.7% or 15,084 are the Americans.

In the reporting period, 60% of the tourists or 246,256 chose 4-star and 5-star hotels for accommodation, she said.

According to her, Almaty has 11,454 hotel rooms. 23 hotels with the capacity of 3,287 rooms are under construction in the city today, with 208.4 billion tenge invested in them. Seven hotels with 1,067 rooms worth 45.1 billion tenge will be commissioned this year, whereas other projects are set to be completed by 2027.

This will enable to increase the city’s hotel room capacity and improve comfortability of the tourists’ stay in the city, Galiya Toksseitova said.

The city’s most popular tourist attractions are Medeu Ice Skating Rink, Shymbulak Ski Resort, Kok-Tobe, Cathedral Church, Central State Museum, Central Mosque, The Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, Green Market, Arbat, Central Park of Culture and Leisure, First President’s Park, Botanical Garden, Baum’s Grove, Zoo and others.