During the meeting of tourism executives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Indian city of Varanasi, the Kazakh delegation proposed to make Almaty the organization's cultural and tourist capital for 2023-2024, QazMonitor reports.
Vice minister of culture and sports Yerzhan Yerkinbayev put forward the proposal, stressing that SCO member states should jointly promote tourism potential at major international events, including joint stands.
"Today, [Kazakhstan] offers visa-free travel to citizens of 79 countries, including all SCO member states. We are working on expanding this list to 100 countries. Direct flights to 30 countries are available on more than 100 air routes," added Yerkinbaev.
The parties also signed several documents on tourism and joint development of the industry in the SCO countries.
In July 2023, Kazakhstan is scheduled to chair the organization until July 2024.
