WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS AT "TOURISM AND TRAVEL" KITF 2022 EXHIBITION

All the travel community unanimously noted that April was again the start of the season for Almaty and turned the city into a single tourist center for the whole world. The Kazakhstan International Travel and Tourism Exhibition KITF 2022 was successfully held at Atakent Exhibition Center on April 20-22, where 216 companies from 19 countries presented their travel products and services.

Taking into account the break in organizing the exhibition due to the coronavirus pandemic in the world, KITF in 2022 acquired a special significance for the participants and visitors: first of all, providing everyone with an opportunity to enjoy the atmosphere of the tourism holiday again and to reveal the full potential of participation in the exhibition event, to meet potential partners face to face, to have a live partner dialogue, and to effectively demonstrate new tourist destinations and innovations in the tourism industry. The fact that there are more than 50% of foreign exhibitors confirms the international status of the event. The exhibition included companies from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, UAE, Poland, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Japan. National stands of Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Poland, and South Korea presented their products and services to the audience.

Honorary guests of the first exhibition day were Y.M. Yerkinbayev  - Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports of the RK; A.M. Sakenov- Chairman of the Tourism Industry Committee of the MCS of the RK; S.B. Amankeldi - Head of "Tourism Administration of Almaty"; K.S. Sadvakasov - Deputy Chairman of Kazakh Tourism National Company JSC; R.R. Shaikenova - Director of Kazakhstan Tourist Association; D.B. Kunanova - Director of Tourism Department of Atameken NCE of the RK, M.M. Makypova - Chairman of the Management Board, President of ATAKENT KBCC JSC, Consuls General of participating countries such as Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Lithuania, Uzbekistan and B.A. Danilenko - Director of ITECA Exhibition Company.

During the three days, the exhibition was attended by 3,686 unique visitors, which proves the absolute interest in the tourism market in Kazakhstan and shows the importance of offline events for further development of tourism in Kazakhstan and Central Asia in general. The participation of all regions of Kazakhstan, represented by the Tourism Departments and Visitor Centers, with a single national stand, opening the exposition of the entire exhibition, presented the Kazakhstani tourism product as an interesting and competitive destination for domestic and inbound tourist flow. According to a survey of visitors, exhibitions provide an opportunity to learn about trends in the travel industry, find useful contacts, share experiences with colleagues. Lyudmila Brown, Head of FUN&SUN premium and the Department for work with FUN&SUN travel agencies, said that the KITF Exhibition proved to be very useful and extremely necessary for business development. "KITF is a huge opportunity to attract and find new customers, and it is also a great opportunity to observe the current market players, adopt their positive experience, and meet with long-time partners from all over Kazakhstan and the world," said Lyudmila.

International exhibitors were able to provide high-quality content of their exposition, prepared an extensive interactive program at their stands and a variety of activities with visitors, reflecting their national identity. New tourist destinations were presented for the first time: the region of Adjara, the Republic of Belarus and the city of Cologne. Special attention at KITF 2022 was paid to inbound and domestic tourism. Almost all regions of Kazakhstan offered their tour products to professional visitors, demonstrating the historical value and cultural heritage of each region of our country.

The KITF business program touched upon the most topical issues for tourism. Round tables, presentations and thematic seminars brought together an audience of representatives of major domestic and foreign travel companies and industry associations. The content of the main list of events included: "Working meeting of state structures supervising the industry and business entities", Plenary session: "Tourism of new reality: Support points in conditions of rapid changes", KITF Travel Fest, International seminar on "Sustainable planning as the basis of development of tourism industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan". Domestic tourist facilities shared practical cases on overcoming the crisis in the pandemic and ways of business development in this period. A series of sessions from the Travel Success Academy, held at KITF for the first time this year, attracted special attention from the audience. Premium Travel, Fun&Sun Kazakhstan, Aviareps, Almaty Region and Shymkent held a number of seminars and discussion sessions, and shared their experiences and plans for further restart of tourism industry.

During the KITF 2022 a memorandum of cooperation in the field of tourism was signed between Kazakh Tourism NC JSC and the Kaz Alpine Club Public Association to develop a road map for the development of tourism in the Almaty agglomeration, in accordance with the instruction of the President of Kazakhstan. Also, a memorandum on future cooperation in tourism signed Tourist Information Center MSE, Visit Aktobe Information Center and Kazakhstan Tourist Association ALE.

The KITF once again proved to be the largest, most authoritative and effective platform for meetings and negotiations for both leaders and newcomers in the tourism sector. Exactly here international and local companies were able to assess the need of the market and consumer interest, studied the competitive environment, found new valid tools for business expansion, and built a strategy for further development.

In 2018, KITF has been awarded the UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) quality mark by exhibition industry experts for its compliance with international B2B venue standards.

KOMPAS is the official partner of the KITF 2022 Anniversary Exhibition. Official support and cooperation was provided by the Ministry of Sports and Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty City Akimat, National Company "Kazakh Tourism" JSC, Kazakhstan Tourist Association ALE, and "Atameken" National Chamber of Entrepreneurs.