Akim of Almaty city will take part in the opening ceremony of the 17th Kazakhstan International Tourism and Travel Fair - KITF 2017

From April 19 to 21, 2017 in Almaty the 17th Kazakhstan International Tourism and Travel Fair - KITF 2017 will open the international tourist season. 392 companies from 31 countries, that will present the latest news of the 2017 season, have confirmed their participation. The visitors will be surprised by the diverse range of offers: from democratic camping tours to the luxury of dazzling islands.

The tourism industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan at the national level is recognized as one of the priority branches of the economy. In this regard, within the framework of KITF the extensive business program aimed at discussing the most topical issues of the tourist industry is provided for.

This decision responds to the expectation of a large influx of tourists in 2017, including due to holding the world exhibition “EXPO 2017”. In particular, there has been a report of the interest of a large number of tourists from China - one of the largest national groups of exhibitors at KITF 2017 in visiting Kazakhstan.

In December 2015 the agreement facilitating the group trips of Chinese tourists to Kazakhstan was signed between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People’s Republic of China. The exhibition KITF 2017 will serve as a logical continuation of the earlier plans and will hold the solemn opening ceremony of the Year of Tourism of China in Kazakhstan. The ceremony will be attended by the Deputy Head of the State Administration for Tourism Affairs of the PRC, the Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Akim of Almaty city, as well as the representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations.

The agenda will also include the active discussion of the prospects for the development of domestic tourism. Thus, Kazakhstan Tourist Association (KTA) will present strategic types of inbound and domestic tourism of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the program of independent certification of tourism industry specialists. The discussions will also сenter around the development of tourism infrastructure of the separate cities of Kazakhstan.

Taking into account current market trends, practically all countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States rely on the development of domestic tourism. This is also facilitated by the global demand for democratic types of trips, such as ecotourism. Having huge potential in this area, the tour operators of the CIS countries and the Caucasus region will take an active part in the formation of this market segment.

Medical tourism is a special topic of the forthcoming exhibition. This phenomenon has pushed many countries to invest in the health sector to significantly improve the level of quality of services provided. At the same time, the competition has grown, and today there is a whole industry on the market, including specialized travel agencies. Over 90 companies from 11 countries (Germany, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, China, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine) will demonstrate this direction within the exhibition.

The growth of the competitive environment on the medical tourism market dictates the improvement in the level of quality and reduction in prices for these services, and there are new countries emerging on the market that are ready to offer them. For the Republic of Kazakhstan, the active development of medical tourism will allow clinics to improve the quality of services and attract the flow of foreign patients. This issue will also be discussed in detail at the open seminar from experts of the Association of Medical Tourism Agencies.

In 2017 the leading companies, industry-specific government agencies and national groups will take part in the exhibition, including Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Georgia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Spain, Kazakhstan, China, Korea, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Morocco, the UAE, Russia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey (22 national groups). More than 10 thousand unique offers for the market of Kazakhstan and Central Asia have been formed.

The organisers of KITF are the exhibition companies Iteca (Kazakhstan) and ITE Group Plc (UK) with the official support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Local Administration of Almaty, UNWTO World Tourism Organization, UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty, National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan “Atameken” and Kazakhstan Tourist Association. The official partner of the exhibition is the hotel chain Cornelia (Turkey).

Kazakhstan International Tourism and Travel Fair is one of the largest expo-events in the world. The exhibition has been held since 2000 and received the award of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI). For 17 years the industry experts have recognized KITF as the main event in the country’s tourism industry. Annually the best representatives of business of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the whole world gather at the exhibition. It is here the leading players of the market demonstrate their new programs and key directions on the eve of the tourist season.

According to the Minister of Culture and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan the international exhibitions of the KITF format offer additional opportunities for the development of the industry as a whole and its individual segments. “Annually this platform demonstrates steady growth and is a tool for developing the domestic tourism”, said Arystanbek Mukhamediuly.

 

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