The tourism industry in Kazakhstan is considered as one of the most promising sectors of the economy, the successful development of which will contribute to its competitiveness and get rid of the dependence on natural resources. Over the past five years as part of the tourism development program, a budget of 50 billion tenge was allocated. The bulk of these funds were directed to the development of tourism infrastructure, a mechanism of state regulation and support of tourism, and the formation of an attractive tourist image of Kazakhstan within the country and abroad.
The legal basis for tourism in Kazakhstan was defined through the "On the tourist activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan", "The concept of the development of tourism in the Republic of Kazakhstan", "State program of development of tourism in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2007-2011", "The State Program on Forced Industrial- Innovative Development of Kazakhstan for 2010-2014" laws. The concepts of the industrial-innovative development and state program FIID, tourism was highlighted as a separate area in the 3 main blocks of economic development - "The development of new labor-intensive industries".
The tourist industry in Kazakhstan along with financial instruments is also stimulated by legislative action. One popular step in this direction is the deregulation of licensing travel agencies, which began in January 2012 [1]. According to the participants of the tourist market, the liberalization of legislation substantially increases market access and reduce administrative barriers for new players.
However, despite all the efforts of the authorities, the pace of development of the tourist industry in the country remains poor. According to statistics, the share of tourism in the formation of the national income is only 1% [2]. According to the World Economic Forum "Travel and Tourism: Competitiveness 2011" Kazakhstan is in the 93rd position out of 139 countries. It is also significant that, according to the annual ranking of the World Tourism Organization, Kazakhstan was not included in the list of top ten countries of the World Tourism rankings [7].
Kazakhstan is steadily growing outbound tourism. According to the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan, in the period from 2007 to 2011 the number of citizens who went to other countries increased from 4.5 to 8 million. There are steadily growing number of those who use the services of travel companies to arrange travel to other countries - from 295 thousand in 2007 to 391 thousand in 2011. The main tourist destinations of Kazakh citizens are Turkey, China, UAE and Thailand.
But, from the point of view of the development of its own economy outbound tourism cannot be a measure of success of the tourism segment. Levels of development of the tourism industry in any country are measured by indicators of inbound and domestic tourism.
In 2011, the volume of inbound tourism, according to the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan, was 5.7 million people. It should be noted that this number over the past few years has been stable, ranging between 4-5 million people. Of these, the services of travel agencies were used by only 36 thousand or 0.64% of all visitors entering the country. And for the past five years, there has been reduction in foreign visitors using the services of travel agencies. In 2007 the travel agencies served 62 thousand people, in the crisis year of 2009 this figure decreased 2-fold to 31 thousand people. Visits to Kazakhstan for foreign citizens are mainly private. Statistics show that more than 63% of visitors in 2010 came here for personal use, and for tourism came only 48 thousand or 1% of non-resident visitors [2].
Comparative data from recent year’s show that the tourist attraction of Kazakhstan abroad is not only low, but also continues to decline. As seen in the chart from 2006 to 2010, the number of tourists has decreased by almost half - from 92 thousand to 48 thousand people.
Fig. 1Change in number of non-resident visitors who enter the country for tourism
Among the non-resident visitors the proportion of immigrants from the former Soviet Union countries prevails, 89%, namely, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. From foreign countries to Kazakhstan, more often, come from China, Germany, Turkey and the UK.
The situation is more optimistic in the segment of domestic tourism. The data show that over the past ten years, the number of domestic tourists travel agencies served has doubled and now stands at more than 200 thousand people. The number of permits sold in 2010 amounted to 205 thousand units, which is 2.5 times more than in 2003. In total, the share of tourism organizations serving visitors of domestic tourism now accounts for 34%, according to the trend, in the next few years the volume of domestic tourism will grow [2]. An increase in domestic tourism has contributed not only to developing Kazakhstan’s tourism facilities, but also the reduction of interest in the outside areas, increased due to instability in countries such as Greece, Egypt and other Arab countries.
Thus, an overview of outbound, inbound and domestic tourism in Kazakhstan clearly reveals the problem of the imbalance of tourism segment. The tourism market in the country, as shown above, is focused primarily on outbound tourism, the service that is the focus of the vast majority of travel agencies. Unfortunately, despite all the measures taken, the number of foreigners choosing Kazakh tourist destinations for a trip is too small to serve as a basis for promoting tourism market.
In this regard, it is clear that the observed increase in recent years in the number of tourism organizations is due to the growth of outbound tourism. Statistics show that, even in times of financial crisis of 2008-2009, the number of visiting tourists has remained stable, while in this period there has been a significant reduction in the volume of inbound and outbound tourism. Especially indicative of the decline is that of domestic tourists in 2009, to 122 thousand people - almost to the level of 2004. But, in 2010, there was a gradual recovery of previous rate of domestic tourism, although 2006 figures of 209 thousand people in the near future will not be easy to achieve.
Fig. 2 Dynamics of the number of domestic tourists served by tourist organizations
Tour companies in Kazakhstan, due to their specialization in outbound tourism, almost did not feel the negative effects of the economic crisis. The number of travel agencies in 2008-2010 remained increased slightly, 7.2%. If you look at the longer retrospect, over the past eight years, the number of tourist companies has almost doubled, from 713 to 1252 units.
For a more detailed view of the market of tourism in Kazakhstan and prospects of its development presents an analysis of the ratio of 2 major parameters - population size and the number of operating travel agencies.
Kazakhstan, which is the 9th largest country in the world by land area, has a very low population density, the parameter of the population plays a big role in terms of the potential consumers of inbound and domestic tourism.
The ratio of the population and the number of travel agencies in the regions of Kazakhstan reflects a pronounced imbalance. More than half (56.7%), travel agencies are concentrated in Almaty. Further, the number of regions with the highest number of tour agencies follow Astana (10.3%), Karaganda (5.7%), Pavlodar (4.7%), North-Kazakhstan region (3.1%) and the Almaty region (3.0%) [2]. Apart from Almaty suburbs and South Kazakhstan region, rapidly growing demographically and in terms of the consumer market is the capital city of Astana.
Contrary to the population densities, the focus of travel agencies, or business activity in specific areas, the tourist sphere, in addition to an urban metropolis Almaty and Karaganda region, a leader in these northern regions, as Pavlodar and North Kazakhstan regions.
Imbalance in the tourism industry is also reflected in the fact that out of the total number of tourist companies in Kazakhstan, only 14% are organizing internal tourism. First, most travel agencies focused on outbound tourism, providing a package of services on a trip to Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, China and other areas. Their customers are concentrated primarily in Astana and Almaty. Secondly, Astana and Almaty have relatively good infrastructure, comparable to Western Europe. In the regions, the situation is quite different.
In Almaty, the tourists come from foreign direct flights. In the metropolitan areas there are trained guides and developed hotel businesses. In its vicinity, up from Charyn Canyon to Lake Issyk and Chimbulak there are national parks, nature reserves, campsites and rail connections. In the provinces there is very little to no infrastructure, transportation networks are underdeveloped and the quality of roads is inadequate. To many potentially attractive sites access is limited due to the lack of state highways.
Travel agencies specializing in incoming tourism have further costs to consider. Along with the business tourism they deal with a significant share of ecotourism. For this an organization requires significant investment in infrastructure - hiring qualified guides, construction, rental accommodation facilities. Therefore, at this stage it is quite logical that imbalance that has emerged in the tourist market of Kazakhstan. Inadequate infrastructure, weak popular domestic destinations and the population growth with increased wealth, create favourable conditions for the development of outbound tourism, but significantly inhibit the formation of a segment of tourism in Kazakhstan.
Given the above trends, the prospects of tourism industry in Kazakhstan in the medium term is poor. In the case of the present situation, when the tourist firms develop only through outbound tourism, and the number of non-resident tourists steadily decreases, it is difficult to expect significant progress in this area. Especially when one considers that the measures taken by the government so far have not yielded significant results.
Analysis of the current situation shows that there is a whole set of problems, because of which the tourist branch in Kazakhstan may not reach a steady level of development. These problems are well-known and have been voiced for the past few years by government officials and various experts, in varying degrees, representing the tourism industry. Based on a review of open sourcesone can provide the following classification of the factors hindering the development of the tourism industry in Kazakhstan.
The key problem of this trend is the low volume of attracted investments in tourism and unstable rates of growth. According to statistics, in 2010, this area was invested 246,445 million tenge. Compared with 2006, the volume of investments increased significantly, but it should be noted that in 2009 it was only 119,860 million tenge. In this case, the apparent effects of the economic crisis, which revealed that the tourist industry is very "sensitive" to economic fluctuations.
The problem of the poor state of infrastructure is multi-layered. It is not only worn out and the limited road and rail, but also the weak development in chains of hotels, hotels in the cities, motels, camping along the trails and hiking trails. To date, relatively developed hotel chains are in major cities like Almaty and Astana. Most placements are worn, as they were built during the Soviet period. (Estimates of the degree of deterioration of hotel base are up to 80%). Kazakhstan has 677 (according to 2010) active placements (hotels, motels, campgrounds, tourist centers, guest houses, holiday homes, etc.), which is 212 more units than in 2006. Despite the increase in the number of placements, their occupancy rate is very low at 21%. A hotel chain can only be deemed successful if occupancy is more than 60%. Using this indicator lists only Atyrau and Mangystau region - 60 and 64%, respectively.
The low popularity of Kazakhstan placements among foreign visitors is shown by the fact that these services have been used by only 12.6% of all the citizens of other countries who arrived in Kazakhstan in 2010. I.e. if this year there were 4.7 million foreigners, only 594 thousand of them stayed in hotels and other types of placements. It turns out that visitors from other countries prefer to live in rented apartments and houses rather than rent a hotel room. The reason is not only the high cost of hotels, compared with rented housing, but also the lack of hotels of varying class.
Speaking of tourism infrastructure the only are that meets internal standards is air transport, which is used by the vast majority of exit and entry of tourists. But, for domestic tourism, which is characterized by overland travel, it is important to the development and maintenance of the road network. Statistics show that almost half of domestic tourists prefer to travel by car.
An integral element of the tourist infrastructure is the system of professional training in the tourism and service industries. To date, problems with staffing tourist activity does not impact upon big cities like Almaty and Astana, while in other regions there is an acute shortage of workers in this sector. It is not just about professional guides and tourism manager, but also the operating personnel. The main reason is the low labor costs in the industry, inefficient system of training, lack of opportunity to do an internship and low level of knowledge among teachers. It is clear that the shortage of qualified personnel in the field of service businesses and tourism are forced to hire people without special training and experience, which will certainly affect the quality of services provided.
Kazakhstan’s government is preparing the new program of long-term development of the tourist industry. According to the statements of the ministry of industry and new technologies, this program will also provide mechanisms to solve the existing problems in the field of tourism. At the end of 2012, this ministry is planning to hold a competition for regional projects, make financial and economic analysis of the instruments of state support. The purpose of the program is to make tourism in Kazakhstan a powerful industry that provides a steady GDP growth and stimulates the development of many related industries.
To guide the development of Kazakhstan, selected countries such as Turkey and Malaysia, which today are the absolute leaders in the global tourism market, should be studied. The experience of these countries shows that within a relatively short period of time, you can make significant progress in the creation of the tourism industry.
The main thing, a carefully thought-out policy in the field of tourism, as well as a systematic approach for its implementation.
In order to make the most of the potential of Kazakhstan it is important to build an effective economic policy based on a scientific approach that takes into account the real situation and the experience of other countries. The level of development of tourism in Kazakhstan is currently at a level Turkey was at in the 60 s and 70 s. A common characteristic of the two countries is that the authorities are fully aware of the opportunities offered by tourism to the country and at this time Turkish politician began to make a special emphasis on the development of the industry in their speeches. However, the economic potential of Turkey at that time was limited, and the government's plans were not always accompanied by the necessary resources. Due to a lack of budget funds and investment Turkish authorities were forced to identify priority areas for the tourism industry. It is in these areas that the Government of Turkey gave an emphasis to attracting investment.
A similar situation exists in the tourism industry in Kazakhstan today. The government has identified the key projects of the international level, which will be developed by individual system development plans. These areas are the Schuichnsko-Burabay resort zone, ski resorts near Almaty and the marine recreation area at Kenderli. The next level - regional projects focused on domestic tourism. This includes Alakol, Balkhash, Bayanaul, Turkestan and others. For each of these resorts the government aims to create a plan for the development of infrastructure with the needs of economic, environmental and social positions.
The main stops to the industry will remain undeveloped small businesses, lack of investment, poor infrastructure, low level of service, an insufficient network of accommodation, corruption and the inefficiency of government. You can also predict the preservation of imbalance within the development of the tourism industry, which is reflected in the concentration of the travel agencies in major cities and regions lagging behind.
The question of what measures should be taken to improve the situation in the tourist market remains open. The Government by the end of the year must submit a new program for the sector, the content and the effectiveness of which will determine the future of Kazakhstan's tourism. A possible positive effect is expected in result of theimplementation of the country's major economic projects like FIID, "Roadmap 2020" and the" Western China - Western Europe". First of all, these programs should address the development of the road network.
Based on an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the tourist industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the experience of Turkey, the following measures can be put forward which will contribute to the development of tourism in Kazakhstan.
However, there remains a need for an effective system of institutions to promote goodwill, as well as mechanisms for coordination and implementation of key program activities in the field of tourism. To do this, it is important to strengthen the role of structures such as the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies and Business Association (NEP "Atameken", Kazakhstan Tourist Association). At regional authorities it is advisable to create the Department of Tourism similar to that created within Almaty.
Overall analysis of the situation of the tourism sector in Kazakhstan shows that to date the development of tourism in the country has been difficult to achieve, and it has a complex character. The most significant factor is an underfunded sector with significant deterioration of infrastructure, lack of staff and poor incentives for people to invest in the tourist market. The solution to these problems mainly depends on the success of the state regulation in this area, as well as the efficiency of the state apparatus, involved in the implementation of tourism development policy in general. However, the experience of countries such as Turkey indicates that at present, the Kazakh authorities should reconsider the former approach to tourism development. A shift away from the "residual" principle of financing the sector and take measures to improve the investment attractiveness of tourism.
In general, the most important condition for the success of all government policy is to maintain continuity and strategic vision at all stages of its implementation. Only in this way, you can the country make a quantum leap towards the formation of a highly efficient and competitive tourist industry.
- Закон Республики Казахстан от 15 июля 2011 г. № 461-IV “О внесении изменений и дополнений в некоторые законодательные акты Республики Казахстан по вопросам совершенствования разрешительной системы” // Ведомости Парламента РК, 2011 г., № 12 (2589), ст.
- Статистический сборник Агенства Статистики РК «Туризм Казахстана: 2007-2011 гг.». – Астана, 2012 г.
- Государственная программа развития туризма в Республике Казахстан на 2007-2011 годы.http://astana- tourism.kz/.
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- Туристская сфера в Республике Казахстан: анализ, оценка и механизм развития Дуйсен Г.М., докторант Института экономики МОН РК, кандидат экономических наук,www.kisi.kz.
- UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, (2011).
- World Economic Forum "Travel and Tourism: Competitiveness 2011", (2011).