Kazakhstan becomes popular destination for S. Korean tourists
The number of visitors to Kazakhstan from South Korea grew 12.3% year-over-year in 2024, Kazinform News Agency has learnt from Kazakh Tourism.
One of the key factors driving this growth is the ongoing work focused on promoting Kazakhstan’s tourist potential and adding more direct flights between the two nations.
Kazakh Tourism company and Air Astana carrier hosted an orientation tour of Almaty city and Almaty region, including Shymbulak mountain resort, Charyn Canyon, Kolsay Lakes and suburban golf clubs for nine key tour operators from South Korea.
In addition, the South Korean tour operators held business meetings with Kazakhstani companies engaged with activities associated with inbound tourism and the Almaty tourism department’s officials.
Kazakhstan gains a foothold on Asia’s tourism map, with the growing interest from advanced markets such as South Korea bearing witness to the country’s huge potential as a promising international tourist destination, said Kairat Sadvakassov, head of Kazakh Tourism.
He noted: "The company’s commitment to promoting Kazakhstan’s tourist potential in South Korea to foster partnerships between leading tourist companies of the two nations".
In 2024, around 27,000 tourists from South Korea stayed in hotels and other accommodation places in Kazakhstan. Almaty city remains the most popular destinations for visitors from South Korea, welcoming over 13,000 people last year. The cities of Astana and Shymkent as well as Kostanay and Atyrau regions were also in the list of top trending destinations for South Korean travelers.
It’s worth noting that South Korean tourist companies also took an orientation tour in 2023 as well as Seoul hosted a roadshow in 2024. South Korea’s TV channel KBS released a travel program about Kazakhstan as part of the World Nomad Games in Astana.
Earlier it was reported that tourism potential and cultural heritage of Kazakhstan and Central Asia had been presented in Seoul.