The Almaty City Department of Tourism has announced plans to expand the city’s hotel room capacity by 1.5 times, reaching 17,000 rooms. The officials aim to encourage investors to prioritize hospitality construction projects over housing, QazMonitor reports citing the press service of Almaty Akimat.
Plans: It is expected that after the completion of the second terminal at Almaty International Airport slated for June this year, the facility’s annual capacity will increase to 14 million passengers, attracting a large influx of tourists.
Currently, work is underway on the construction of seven hotels, while the design of an additional fifteen is in progress. Together, these facilities will provide the city’s hospitality infrastructure with 3,287 rooms and cost ₸208.4 billion (as of March 27, 2024, $461.6 million).
By the end of 2025, the Department aims to expand the city's hotel room capacity to 17,000 rooms.
The big picture: According to the Bureau of National Statistics, during the nine months of 2023, Almaty attracted over 1.5 million visitors (up 17.5%), of which 409,394 were foreign tourists.
The total number of tourists in Kazakhstan for the indicated period was 6,245,719 people, with Almaty accounting for 1,514,039 people or 24.2% of the share.
However, the city is the most attractive destination in the country for foreign tourists. During the reported period, Kazakhstan welcomed 834,953 visitors, with Almaty accounting for 409,394, or 49% of the share.
Currently, the city boasts a hotel room capacity of 11,454 rooms and has direct flights to 42 destinations worldwide.
Due to the tourist influx, we have achieved a notable increase in the main tourism indicators. For example, tax revenues increased by 64%, amounting to ₸50.2 billion ($111.2 million). The number of employed people increased by 11%, totaling 78,551 people, while investments showed a 47.7% increase, reaching ₸106.4 billion ($235.7 million).