Feature

Kazakhstan - a New, highly potential Market

By far the most prosperous and politically stable of the Central Asia states to come out of the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan is blessed with a wealth of mineral resources and a population of less than 20 Million people. Kazakhs have already starting to travel extensively, with Europe and the Middle East being their favorite destinations to date, but with destinations in SE Asia such as. Thailand and Malaysia experiencing some of the highest rates of growth at present. Turkey is the no.1 destination in the summer, while UAE is the favourite spot during the winter.

With GDP growth of 5.4% in 2010 and a predicted growth rate of up to 6% in 2011, Kazakhstan is likely to be one of the fast growing economies in the region The GDP per capita is $8,326, while in Russia, it is $10,522. Kazakhstan as much of the former Soviet Union has a highly educated population, most people speak 2 languages both Russian and Kazakh, internet usage also has a relatively high penetration rate of 34%, while in Russia it is 42%.

The new capital of Kazakhstan, Astana was created less than 15 years ago, but the business capital is still based in the old capital, Almaty. Almaty is also the main hub for most international flights and thus the location of the upcoming 1st Kazakhstan B2B Travel Industry Workshop which will take place on April 19th, 2011.

Unlike most of the other former Soviet Republics, Kazakhstan has a world class airline with high levels of service and one of the youngest fleets, and has more similarities with airlines such as Emirate or Qatar Airlines. The airline is 50% privately owned by a British investor. Air Astana's main European hubs are in London and Frankfurt, but they also have connecting flights to Italy, France and Spain, the most popular European leisure destinations. Air Astana is rapidly expanding its Asian and CIS routes, with flights to Malaysia, Thailand, India and the UAE. At the same time there are also plenty of international carriers with direct flights to Almaty, including BMI, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ethihad and KLM to mention a few, so it is relatively easy to have direct access.

Due to the oil and gas sectors, many of the leading business travel agents are present in Almaty including: American Express, BCD and HRG, also a strong leisure travel sector has developed including charter operations to leading destinations such as Turkey

The Key travel destinations are: Turkey, UAE, Thailand, Egypt, the Czech Republic, Italy and since the removal of visas - Croatia. Spain & France are popular summer destinations, while Germany & the UK are major business destinations. The UK, Malaysia and Switzerland are important centres for Educational travel.

 

The Kazakh Travellers Profile can be summarized as the following

 

Where is Kazakhstan?

Situated between Russia and China, 7 Hours flight time from London and 3.5 hours from Delhi, Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world in terms of land territory