Kazakhstan eyes tourism boost in cooperation with PGI Management
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov of Kazakhstan held a meeting on Saturday with president of PGI Management Joan Viladomat to discuss cooperation in ski tourism, focusing on the Almaty cluster, Kazinform News Agency cites the press service of the Kazakh Government.
The meeting focused on global tourism trends and the economic impact of tourism highlighted the role ski tourism plays in social and economic development of mountainous areas and the country.
Speaking at the meeting, Joan Viladomat shared project results aimed at transforming economies of some countries for greater focus on tourism.
Currently, PGI Management has up to 120 completed projects such as in Switzerland’s Davos and Saint Moritz, France’s Courchevel, Austria’s Ischgl and Tyrol, Vail and Aspen in the US, Whistler Blackcomb in Canada as well as resorts in Andorra, which saw 9.6 million visitors last year, despite its population of 80,000.
Development prospects of the Almaty mountain cluster were discussed. The cluster that welcomes 2 million visitors per year and provides 2,000 people with seasonal jobs boasts ski trails spanning 41km and 16 ski lifts, serving 6,000 people per day.
The cluster’s infrastructure development through ski trail expansion to 227km and increasing ski lifts to 58 could lead to 5.6fold growth in its daily capacity of up to 34,000 visitors and creation of 10,000 jobs. This will allow the Almaty mountain cluster to welcome up to 7.5 million tourists per year by 2029.
Kazakh Premier Bektenov called diversification as a priority amid the current global economic situation, saying, ‘Tourism alongside manufacturing, digitalization, transport and logistics should be a new force of economic growth’.
Earlier it was reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted the importance of private sector investments in tourism.