Tokayev: Tourism Must Become Kazakhstan’s Growth Engine

Kazakhstan is stepping up efforts to turn tourism into a true engine of growth, but the sector remains complex and demanding.

In an extended interview with Turkistan newspaper, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said tourism goes far beyond leisure, combining economy, culture, security, and business, and requires dedicated professionals and true patriots, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

“Tourism is incompatible with laziness, indifference, greed, and arrogance,” the president stressed.

President Tokayev noted that millions of foreign tourists visited Kazakhstan last year, while domestic tourism also continued growing, calling these trends encouraging. He emphasized that ecotourism is gaining popularity worldwide, and Kazakhstan has unique natural advantages to capitalize on this demand.

Highlighting key destinations, the president pointed to the Shymbulak resort near Almaty, located just 30 minutes from the city, and praised its unique landscape. He underlined that the Almaty mountain cluster must cater not only to affluent travelers but also to tourists with average incomes, which calls for diversified infrastructure development.

Staff shortages were also high on the agenda. To address this, the International University of Tourism and Hospitality was established in Turkistan, with its first graduates completing studies in 2024. Additional measures, Tokayev said, will be taken to resolve the staff deficit.

The president also referenced CNN Travel, which named Almaty the “new capital of style” in Central Asia in 2025, and instructed the city’s mayor to turn Almaty into a “city that never sleeps”, comparable to New York, Moscow, and Paris. The focus, he said, should be on 24/7 services for visitors, improved infrastructure, urban development, and lighting.

Earlier, President Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan’s economy grew by more than 6 per cent in 2025, with GDP surpassing $300 billion for the first time. GDP per capita exceeded $15,000, setting a record not only for Kazakhstan but for the entire region.