Could you give our readers an overview of
the tourism industry in Kazakhstan, and the future
of this sector?
At present, we do not have a Ministry of Tourism.
We just have the Agency of Tourism and Sport,
which has existed for many years and was part
of the former Ministry of Tourism. It is a government
body that deals with tourism. Tourism itself has
not been very much promoted. Kazakhstan Tourism
Association (KTA), which consists of about 20
travel agencies, tries to promote tourism to Kazakhstan
and private sector travel agencies work on their
own. To my knowledge the Government has no real
policy. There is the will to make a master plan
but it has not started yet.
Do you think that in a near future the sector
will change?
The sector is definitely going to be developed.
The former Prime Minister Tokayev has worked on
promoting tourism. He still does it as "Minister
of Foreign Affairs". The main problem is
that there is no real policy on tourism, so that
nobody knows what should be developed and what
should be done. The policy of transport to Kazakhstan
is also underdeveloped. As the Prime Minister,
Mr. Tokayev had developed strict rules to issue
tourist visa, but local authorities, do not follow
these rules, so it is still quite expensive and
cumbersome to get a tourist visa to Kazakhstan.
Could you give our readers a brief historical
background of Central Asian Tourism Corporation?
Central Asian Tourism Corporation was founded
in 1993. It was created as a joint venture with
Sputnik Kazakhstan, which was one of the two top
tourism agencies during the Soviet time.
The aim of this joint venture was to promote
tourism in Kazakhstan. Today, our policy has changed.
We sell airline tickets, we also organize tourism
within Kazakhstan on demand, we do sell tourism
outside Kazakhstan, and we work with foreigners
living in Kazakhstan.
We have two main offices in Almaty. One is at
the airport, which is the only office that works
for 24 hours. We also have offices in Astana,
Atyrau, Aktau, and Aksai. We just opened a office
in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, which is the first travel
agency there. We also have a partnership with
an agency, which has the same name, in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan.
Do you work in all CIS countries?
No, we are just interested in Central Asia and
Xinjiang, China.
Could you elaborate more on your activities?
Our main activity is the sale of domestic and
international airline tickets. We also apply for
visas. We are one of nine travel agencies that
have the right to apply for tourist visas. We
also apply for business visas. We have our own
cars, so we can organize trips around Kazakhstan.
In other countries we collaborate with their local
travel agencies.
So, the presence of Central Asian Tourism
is very important. Do you look for any new partnerships?
As I already said that we work with other local
travel agencies. We train their staff. We are
specializing on what a foreign company could do
better than local ones.
Do you have partnerships with foreign companies?
We are agents of most international airlines,
such as the Austrian airlines, and Swiss International
airlines. We are also agents of domestic airlines.
Examples Air Kazakstan and Air Astana the two
National Carriers of Kazakhstan and about 10 private
local airlines. W3 are members of WATA, (World
Association f ravel Agents) Geneva and ASTA, (American
Association of ravel Agents) Washington. We represent
American Express. Travel Service it is like a
franchise.
Are you the only foreign company that works
with tourism in Kazakhstan?
No, there is BTI, which is a British company
with a representation office here. American. I
am the only owner and I came here to help to promote
the tourism industry. I was a travel agent all
my life. German education in travel is more professional
than in most other countries.
So, there is no real competition for you.
Yes, there is no real competition for us. Of
course there are some travel agencies that are
very good. However, in general we do not have
competitors.
How do you see the future of tourism in Kazakhstan?
As I already said, the Government is slowly getting
interested in it. It is obvious that something should
be done because the tourism industry is one of the
biggest in the world. The geographical position
of Kazakhstan could facilitate this being on the
bridge between Europe and Asia. There is practically
no investment in tourism from abroad. We have three
deluxe hotels in Almaty, and two of them are too
big and expensive. Hyatt and Regency are very good
hotels. However, if we talk about tourists, they
are not likely to stay there. For businessmen they
are fine, but not for tourists. |
There is a desperate
need of investment in Kazakhstan; TACIS is financing
a report on investment opportunities in Kazakhstan
tourism. They will invite a person that will study
the geographical possibilities. Geography is nice
in Kazakhstan; however, people need not only mountains
but also infrastructure. Transportation is very
limited in Kazakhstan. There are no real tourist
buses and trained staff.
So, there are some projects coming soon.
I hope so. However, Kazakhstan needs infrastructure.
Oil industry and agriculture are two priorities
in the development of Kazakhstan economy. I think
that tourism should be the third priority.
What has been your biggest challenge here?
I think that bureaucracy is the main problem,
especially when getting visa. Otherwise, we do
not have any serious problems. What is really
bad is OVIR the foreign police, which is not interested
in tourism. We had several conferences, where
all travel agencies complained that changes were
moving very slowly. For example, in theory to
get a tourist visa takes 5 days. However, in reality
it takes at least 15 days. For investment, this
is very important if there are obstacles like
this, and then investors will go to a different
place.
I know that in Russia there is a problem with
transit visas. What is the situation in Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan does not have problems with transit
visas. The only problem we have is that there
is no written rule about getting a visa. It takes
about 1 week to get one. So, bureaucracy is the
primary problem for us. Recently, exit visa for
Kazakh nationals were cancelled this will make
tourism from Kazakhstan easier to promote.
Could you tell us a little bit about airlines?
For example, there are very often problems to
get tickets on some airlines.
No, it is not a real problem. Lufthansa replaced
a big aircraft with a smaller one. So, sometimes,
there are not enough seats during summer but in
winter the number of seats is appropriate. Domestic
flights though are very often full especially
to Astana.
Could you tell us about your partnerships?
At this moment, no foreign airline is interested
in coming to Kazakhstan. I talked to Cathay Pacific
to fly to Hong Kong, as there is no flight. Air
Kazakhstan flies to Korea. In winter to Bangkok.
Otherwise, there are flights to Asia. The best
way to get to Hong Kong is to fly via Urumqi.
Cathay Pacific was here a year ago. They wanted
to fly to Moscow. I asked them to have two flights
to Hong Kong via Almaty. We could provide them
with sufficient business. Today, if you want to
go somewhere to the East, it is a big problem.
It is amazing because Kazakhstan is in Asia and
it does not have any airline flying to Eastern
Asia.
Yes, we are in Asia. However, Air Kazakhstan
has a flight to Delhi.
Are Kazakhstani airlines going to open new
routes?
Air Kazakhstan or Air Astana may open new routes
but they first need new airplanes and second they
need new management. Air Kazakhstan does not use
its geographical location. The market of Kazakhstan
is too small; I mean that there are just 14 million
inhabitants here. So, not many people travel.
That is why; it is not a big market for a big
international airline. If they fly Hong Kong -
Almaty - London or Moscow they could make money.
Moreover, Kazakh airlines cannot compete with
the European ones. They could compete in Asia
but they do not have the Interline agreements
needed.
Do you deal more with foreigners or with locals?
We work mainly with foreigners. I am a foreigner
and I know basically every foreigner living here.
We work with foreign companies because they are
the ones who spend the most on traveling. We do
also have now a number of Kazakh companies as
clients. The number of traveling individuals is
increasing. A Middle class is developing, which
did not exist five years ago. Tourism to Turkey
and Bangkok is developed because when you go there
you do not need a visa. Malaysia is another country
but there are no flights.
Could you give our readers a final message?
I think that the tourism market is waiting for investments.
I think that the possibilities of investment in
Kazakhstan tourism are quite interesting. It is
a very big country with wonderful geography. Kazakhstan
has mountains, steppes, around 20 National parks;
however, it does not have a proper infrastructure.
There are many possibilities for investments. Even
though the Government has not yet developed a clear
plan yet, it would assist those who would be interested
in developing tourism in Kazakhstan. |
