Revista Tur smo & Desenvolvimento | n.o 31 | 2019 | [ 35 - 45 ] e-ISSN 2182-1453 Tourism development in Kazakhstan MAKHABBAT RAMAZANOVA * [[email protected]] BARTOLOMÉ DEYÁ TORTELLA ** [[email protected]] ANUARBEK KAKABAYEV *** [[email protected]] Abstract| The Republic of Kazakhstan is an oil exporting country, and in the present context, it at- tempts to diversify its economy by developing other sectors. Among them, tourism industry has been identied as one of the key sectors with high potential in generating income to the country. Therefore, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has given a special emphasis to tourism since the last decade through the development of tourism support strategies and programs. The overall aim of this study is to examine the tourism development potentials of the Republic of Kazakhstan during the last decade, with reference to the Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area, located in Akmola region of northern Kazakhstan. Furthermore, the paper highlights the challenges confronting the country and provide some recommendations for authorities and tourism businesses for successful tourism development. Keywords| Tourism development, Kazakhstan, Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area * PhD student in Tourism at the University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Project manager at the Sh.Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan ** PhD in Economics by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain). Full professor in the Department of Business Economics. Dean of the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain *** PhD in Environmental Genetics by the Al-Farabi Kazakh State National University (Kazakhstan).Associate Pro- fessor in the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Sh.Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan. Local coordinator of Erasmus+ projects at the Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kokshetau, Kazakhstan 36 |RT&D | n.o 31 | 2019 | RAMAZANOVA et al. 1. Introduction 2. Tourism sector in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, considered as the world's largest Tourism is one of the world's largest industries landlocked country without outfall to the ocean and one of the fastest growing economic sectors and world's ninth largest country in terms of land over the last six decades. It is currently one of the area, is an emerging tourist destination. Moreover, main agents for regional development and stimula- the nomadic lifestyle and rich history of Kazakh tes new economic activities for many countries. In people, have led to an exceptional and authentic 2017, tourism made a signicant contribution to culture of the region. The potentials for Kazakhs- the world's GDP by 10% and constitutes 10% of tan's tourism are rich and diverse. The country has world's total jobs, as one of the largest employers opportunities for the development of many types (UNWTO, 2018). According to the World Tou- of tourism, such as ecotourism, nature-based tou- rism Organization (UNWTO) Barometer Report, rism, lake tourism, medical tourism, cultural tou- the international tourism gures have greatly in- rism, educational, entertainment and others. Gi- creased. International tourist arrivals have grown ven the importance of tourism industry, the Go- up from 25 million in 1950 to 1,326 million in 2017, vernment of the Republic of Kazakhstan supports while international inbound tourism revenues have its development and has issued a number of stra- increased from US$ 2b in 1950 to US$ 1,340b tegies and programs. in 2017. Furthermore, a signicant contribution The Republic of Kazakhstan is an oil expor- to GDP - employment, export and investments in ting economy, and in the present context, aims tourism are forecasted to increase in the future. at diversifying the national economy through tou- Accordingly, the role of tourism in the economic rism clusters' policy implementation in several re- development of countries cannot be easily ignored. gions. Among the regions, a special attention Tourism inuences social development and contri- has been given to the Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort butes to the preservation of cultural and historical area, located in Akmola region of northern Ka- heritage. zakhstan, as a high priority area for tourism with In this context, several countries prioritize tou- its unique natural and cultural heritage. The re- rism as one of the engines of economic and social gion occupies a territory that is extremely favo- growth. An example is the Republic of Kazakhs- rable for development of tourist businesses. The tan, which is an emerging and still unexplored des- resort area has convenient geographic location, tination for visitors. The peculiarities of Kazakhs- unique natural and climatic conditions, beautiful tan have gifted the country with vast opportunities landscape with magnicent combinations of rocky in developing diverse oers in travel and tourism, mountains, pine forests, lakes with convenient be- such as nature-based activities, including ecotou- aches and recreational areas. Nevertheless, natural rism and birdwatching in national parks and pro- resources, rich cultural and historical heritage are tected areas, authentic cultural tourism, skiing or not sucient for the tourism development for the hiking in the mountains, water sports, sunbathing, country and its regions. Thus, an analysis of tou- and swimming, among others (Visit Kazakhstan, rism potentials, its present development along with 2018). The territory of Kazakhstan is divided into the main challenges can be useful for the autho- Southern, Northern, Western, Eastern and Cen- rities, policymakers and businesses in understan- tral regions. Each region has a great potential for ding the tourism circumstances and take certain tourism development, with the presence of histo- steps towards its successful and sustainable deve- rical sites, monuments, attractive landscapes, na- lopment. ture resources such as unique lakes and rivers (Ku- RT&D | n.o 31 | 2019 | 37 ralbayev et al., 2017). in the national tourism policy. Kazakhstan constitutes an interesting case As stated, Kazakhstan' economy is based study, because of its history, geographical position mainly on the export of raw materials and energy and size. As the world's largest landlocked coun- resources. The country is rich in natural resour- try located in the center of Eurasia, Kazakhstan ces: oil and gas, copper, gold, zinc and uranium has national administrative divisions composed of among others. It is blessed with four seasons and 14 regions and 2 cities (Astana and Almaty). As- its dierent topographical zones favor production tana, the capital, and Almaty, the largest city (and of wheat and crops. However, globalisation and former capital), are administratively independent competitive international trends require the deve- with statuses comparable to a region. Almaty City lopment of other sectors. Attempts are being made concentrates an important share of the country's to achieve this through the development of com- total population. It is considered one of the most petitive clusters in other economic sectors, inclu- important business and nancial centers, located ding tourism. During the last years, development in the southeast of the country. of the tourism sector constitutes a high priority The territory of the state can be divided for policymakers, and considered to be the second into four landscape zones: deserts (which covers main driving force (after the energy sector) for the around 44% of the national territory), steppes future, to increase the national GDP and boost (26%), semi-deserts (14%), and forests (5.5%). the economy (Abubakirova et al., 2016, Syzdyk- The tourism activity is mainly based on natural at- bayeva et al., 2015). The government of Kazakhs- tractions (such as its varied and unique geographi- tan has developed several strategies and programs cal landscapes, natural parks, ora and fauna, such as legislation "on tourist activity in the Repu- etc.), together with an exquisite and authentic cul- blic of Kazakhstan, the concept of development of tural heritage (Azhimetova et al., 2013, Kutty- the tourism industry of the Republic of Kazakhs- bayeva, 2015). The diverse natural and cultural tan until 2023"(Department of Tourism in Akmola, resources constitute its primary tourist attractions 2018). The main purpose of these strategies and and tourists usually try to witness nature and im- programs is to promote the development of a com- merse in a rich natural, cultural and historical ex- petitive and modern tourism industry, totally inte- perience. Numerous national parks and more than grated into the global tourism market. nine thousands historical and archeological monu- As a result of the government's initiatives, tou- ments are located in the territory (Abubakirova et rism has increased in the country both in terms al., 2016). Moreover, the country is characterised of tourist arrivals and income during the last de- by number of natural recreational resources for the cade (Abubakirova et al., 2016). According to development of health tourism. Nowadays, there the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism are 89 known sources of mineralised water treat- Competitiveness Report (2017), Kazakhstan is on ment in Kazakhstan, used for drinking and balne- the 81st place out of 136, which is four positi- ological purposes, as well as 47 deposits of thera- ons higher compared to the previous period (WEF, peutic muds. There are around 120 sanatoriums, 2017). Some gures can illustrate the evolution