To grow Kazakhstan as a tourist destination, the NTO first needs to raise awareness of the country’s myriad offerings, writes S Puvaneswary
Tourism is still a nascent industry in Kazakhstan, contributing about 1.5 per cent of the country’s GDP. The Central Asian nation received 6.4 million tourist arrivals last year, a slight drop from 6.8 million in 2013.
In July 2014, the Kazakh government introduced a year-long pilot programme to offer visa-free entry for 10 countries, namely France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Korea, the UAE, the UK and the US. Kazakhstan recently extended the scheme by another year to 2016.
To grow inbound tourism and reduce tourism trade deficit – outbound travel currently exceeds inbound travel by US$500 million – Kazakhstan added 10 more countries to its visa-free facility in July this year, extending the scheme to include Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Monaco, Singapore, Australia, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
“Eventually, Almaty will also include all OECD countries into the programme, though these markets will be brought on board gradually,” said Timur Duisengaliyev, director of the Tourism Industry Department.
Alicia Seah, director, marketing communications at Dynasty Travel in Singapore, said: “With the visa waiver, we are hopeful it will attract Singaporeans, many of whom are well-heeled travellers and enjoy off- the-beaten-track destinations. While our company sells packages to Uzbekistan as a mono destination, we will consider coming up with new packages combining Uzbekistan with Kazakhstan.”
Lack of destination awareness
To reduce an over-dependence on travel trade shows and consumer travel fairs, the Tourism Industry Department wants to set up marketing representation offices in key overseas markets. Currently, there are no such offices.
Duisengaliyev said: “We need to have a constant presence in key markets. It is not enough to just attend trade shows.”
The NTO is keen to open marketing representation offices in China, India, Russia and Germany by this year-end, as these countries have the capability to “generate high volumes of inbound tourists” for Kazakhstan, said Duisengaliyev.
The trade also wants the Kazakh government to do more to promote the country overseas.
Holiday Inn Almaty’s general manager, Douglas Winfield, said: “The government must come up with a clear marketing strategy to win more leisure tourists. Relaxing visa for certain markets is a great initiative, but the government must also work with the private sector to drive tourism.”
Added Saya Okas, marketing manager at Shymbulak Ski Resort, where only a quarter of its 500,000 visitors each year are foreigners: “The perception among tour operators and international tourists is that the country has nothing to offer. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness.”
Abdul Rahman Mohd Ali, group CEO of Poto Travel & Tours Malaysia said the 15-day visa-free entry for Malaysians and direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Almaty has aided the selling of Kazakhstan to a certain extent.
He opined: “However, it will be easier to promote the destination if the Tourism Industry Department assists in joint destination promotions and marketing support for (consultants). Kazakhstan – and Central Asia as a whole – is still a new destination for Malaysians and breaking into this new market is not as profitable as selling established markets such as Central Europe.”
Golden Tourworld Travel Malaysia’s 15days/13nights Central Asia package, which combines Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, uses Almaty as a gateway with Air Astana’s thrice-weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur.
Said the company’s marketing manager, Christine Ker: “We would consider extending stays in Kazakhstan if the Tourism Industry Department offers more consumer promotions to Malaysians and provides us with marketing support and product updates.”
Air Astana as key driving force
A key driver of the Kazakh tourism sector is Air Astana, a joint venture between the country’s national wealth fund, Samruk Kazyna, and BAE Systems, with shares of 51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.
Peter Foster, president of Air Astana, laments that the government has neither a clear strategy to attract international tourists nor joint marketing promotion efforts with the national carrier and the NTO, unlike other countries in Asia-Pacific.
On its own, Air Astana works in close partnership with The Ritz-Carlton Almaty to jointly host fam trips for foreign travel consultants. The airline is heavily dependent on travel consultants as agencies make up 90 per cent of seats sold.
“Year-round, the average load factor of Air Astana varies between 65 to 68 per cent year-on-year, (offering) plenty of opportunities for (travel consultants) in Asia to sell Kazakhstan,” said Richard Ledger, Air Astana’s vice president, worldwide sales.
However, he acknowledges that the airline and the destination are not well-known for longhaul markets such as South-east Asia, thus organising fam programmes and offering special rates for preferred consultants to sell Kazakhstan packages at consumer travel fairs are important.
Urging Air Astana to work closer with the trade, Gulnora Khamidova, managing director at GM Travel House in Kuala Lumpur, said: “Otherwise, (consultants) will work with other Central Asian carriers such as Uzbekistan Airways which offers competitive rates to (consultants) or Turkmenistan Airlines which also has direct flights to Kuala Lumpur.”
To attract transit visitors through Almaty and Astana, Air Astana Stopover Holidays is a pre-paid programme which includes transfers, hotel accommodation with breakfast, city tours and seasonal free tours – such as skiing in winter and mountain biking in summer.
This article was first published in TTG Asia, September 18, 2015 issue, on page 6. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
