According to the latest stats from Kazakhstan, 48% of population travelled abroad in 2011. That’s 8% increase compared to 2010. In absolute figures, that’s 8 million, out of 16.7 total population of the country. To compare with Russia, 30% of population went abroad in 2011, but that’s out of 143 million people living in Russia.
As of today, there are around 1,560 travel companies officially registered in Kazakhstan, with most of them based in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Compared to over 800 travel companies in Almaty, there are only 208 agencies in Astana, the country’s capital. So the main bulk of travel business is happening in Almaty. However, out of these numbers, a lot of companies are dealing with both outgoing and incoming tourism to Kazakhstan.
If you are interested to discover this market further, sign up to participate in B2B Travel Workshop in Almaty on April 22, 2012. This is one day prior to KITF, the main local tourism exhibition. Send email to b2b@tmiconsultancy.com or go to www.b2btravelworkshop.com/, International Registration. There is also B2B Travel Workshop taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on April 19, 2012.