HNA Group: Year of China tourism in Kazakhstan to increase mutual tourist traffic
BEIJING. June 3. KAZINFORM - The Republic of Kazakhstan and China have great potential for cooperation in the field of tourism. The announcing 2017 as a Year of China tourism in Kazakhstan will increase mutual tourist traffic, Chen Feng, Chief Executive Officer of the HNA Group corporation, told Kazinform.
"Holding EXPO-2017 in Astana and the arrangement of the two states’ leaders on 2017 declaration as the Year of China Tourism in Kazakhstan will increase the flow of tourists and expansion of mutual cooperation in this field", said Chen Feng.
It bears to remind that the April meeting with Nursultan Nazarbayev with his counterpart Xi Jinping resulted in the agreement to declare 2017 as the Year of China Tourism in Kazakhstan.
“China having successful experience of Shanghai Expo will support Kazakhstan in preparing and holding EXPO-2017 in Astana. The most important thing is that the exhibition was visited by five million people. This friendly country will help us in carrying out such a big event for Kazakhstan”, said the Kazakh Head of State.
“The plans of HNA Group which owns “Hainan Airlines” is to increase the number of flights to Kazakhstan”, added Chen Feng. "We expect to increase the number of flights to Kazakhstan via Urumqi. Our company is significantly represented in Xinjiang and in the future we plan to make Urumqi a transportation hub connecting Central Asia and China", concluded Chen Feng.
Currently “Hainan Airlines” operates scheduled flights on the "Beijing-Almaty" route.
“In 2012 more than 30,000 Kazakhstan tourists visited the resort town of Sanya on Hainan Island in southern China”, said Tan Sysyan, the deputy director of the Committee on development of tourism in Sanya city, to Kazinform.
The official also says that Kazakhstan is among the countries that are subject to a regime of visa-free stay.