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In the heart of Kazakhstan, Astana is gearing up for a tourism boom in 2025. According to recent data, the city's tourism sector contributed 5.9% (919 billion tenge) to its economy in 2024. This figure is set to rise as passenger traffic increases, with air transport seeing a 9% increase (2 million people), and rail transport growing by 23% (1.2 million people).
The first quarter of 2025 saw a 7% increase in tourist flow, with 314,000 people visiting. The city's tourism authorities are aiming high, with plans to attract 1.7 million tourists this year, including a growing share of foreign tourists.
The strategic direction for Astana's tourism development focuses on building the city's tourist potential by positioning it as a key cultural platform. This includes hosting large-scale cultural events, expanding hospitality infrastructure, and increasing both domestic and international visitor numbers. Astana is set to offer 299 hotels, including nine five-star, and an active calendar of over 200 events planned for the year.
Key specific priorities include expanding cultural tourism through large-scale events, developing infrastructure and services to accommodate increasing tourist flows, leveraging Astana’s political and business profile, enhancing regional and international connectivity, supporting sustainable tourism development, and boosting international tourism partnerships and visa liberalization policies.
The Expert Council on Tourism, chaired by Deputy Akim Eugene Glotov, held its first meeting in Astana to discuss these priorities. The meeting summarized the results for 2024 and the first half of 2025, focusing on the prospects for developing Astana as a competitive tourist destination.
Joint work by state and private structures is expected to make Astana a recognizable and attractive tourist center on the international stage. The city was visited by 1.5 million tourists, including 350,000 foreign citizens, with 68,000 of these visitors being foreign tourists.
The identified priority areas for development include digital solutions, medical tourism, creating an inclusive urban environment, gastronomic clusters, MICE tourism, and ensuring year-round recreation. The Expert Council will serve as a permanent dialogue platform between state bodies and the tourism industry.
Eugene Glotov emphasized that tourism remains a priority in the capital's economic development. The main flow of guests in 2025 is expected to come from Russia, China, Turkey, the USA, and Germany. Discussed issues included infrastructure, improving the quality of tourist services, and inter-sectoral cooperation.
Representatives from the hotel and restaurant business, transport industry, tour operators, medical organizations, and other interested parties attended the meeting. The collective aim is to make Astana a competitive and attractive tourist destination in 2025.
- To further bolster its tourism industry, Astana's strategic direction aims to position the city as a key cultural platform, attracting 1.7 million tourists in 2025, including a growing share of foreign tourists.
- In line with the collective aim of making Astana a competitive and attractive tourist destination, the city offers a scheduled calendar of over 200 events, 299 hotels including nine five-star, and focuses on expanding cultural tourism through large-scale events.
