A meeting of heads of tourism administrations of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization took place in Almaty, where the most important issues of further development and strengthening of partnership in the field of tourism were raised.

Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ermek Marzhikpayev noted in his speech that the tourism industry is an important area of ​​interaction within the SCO. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the mutual flow of tourists. According to statistics, 62% of the flow of foreign tourists in Kazakhstan are citizens of SCO countries. A visa-free regime has been established with almost all member countries of this organization.

“Tourism has a huge impact on the development of the country's economy, from local jobs to important investment projects in key sectors of the economy. Thus, Kazakhstan, located in the heart of Eurasia, at the crossroads of the world’s most ancient civilizations, at the intersection of transport arteries, understands like no other the need for further development of transport infrastructure,” said Ermek Marzhikpayev.

Today, Kazakhstan has 560 regular flights per week with 28 countries on 114 air routes. Including 245 flights are carried out regularly between members of the Organization, work is underway to improve this indicator. In addition, thanks to the 5th degree of “freedom of air”, such foreign airlines as IndiGo, FlyNas, Malaysian AirAsia X, received the right to operate flights to a number of airports in Kazakhstan without restrictions on frequencies and types of aircraft .

The Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan raised the issue of human capital development. Each of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries has knowledge and experience in the field of tourism. In this regard, Ermek Marzhikpayev took the initiative to implement an academic mobility program among students and teaching staff of tourism universities in our countries.

In addition, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the project “Tourist and Cultural Capital of the SCO” is being successfully implemented. According to the head of the department, Almaty is ready to transfer this status to the next city and support the candidacy of the city of Qingdao of the People's Republic of China to receive this status.

gov.kz

translated by Qazalem