Kazakhstan today is both exotic and urbane, raw yet cultivated

In an ever smaller world, Kazakhstan offers tourists the rarest of prizes: a distant vista. The country, about the size of Western Europe, stretches from the border of European Russia to China’s western flank. From the Caspian seaside to vast natural parks home to the world’s largest wolf population, to Silk Road oasis towns like Turkestan, Kazakhstan provides for all known varieties of tourism – cognitive, ethnic, ecological, rehabilitative, children-orientated, sports, hunting, equestrian and adventure.

Tourism in Kazakhstan is experiencing solid growth – a sector targeted by the government for future focus and investment. Some 430 tourism agencies, firms and bureaux employ nearly 6,000 people. Around 1,500 professional guides work in the country. Tourism revenues represent 5 per cent of the nation’s GDP – a large proportion considering its massive earnings from oil, gas, and other raw materials.

Indeed, Kazakhstan tourism firms co-operate with almost 80 countries across the world. Some 25 tourism firms in Almaty and five companies in regional centres arrange charter flights between Kazakhstan’s urban centres and Turkey, the UAE, Pakistan, South Korea, Greece and Poland. Tourists are offered over 700 travel routes within Kazakhstan.

The country is an excellent base to explore the larger region, from Uzbekistan’s marvellous Silk Road architecture to nearby Kyrgyzstan’s wonderful alpine majesty. And while in Kazakhstan, booming cities like Almaty have started to cater to tourists in a meaningful way. Menus in English have become common, as have English-speaking staff at tourist sites, upscale restaurants, and other points of interest, from exhibitions of Golden Eagles hunting to mountain treks to nomadic dining on the vast steppe. Kazakhstan today is both exotic and urbane, raw yet cultivated.

Kazakhstan has experienced significant tourist inflows from the UK over the last few years – and not only because of a certain movie about a Kazakhstani journalist in America. In addition to those coming to explore the country as part of a business trip, recent visa simplification procedures for EU passport holders have greatly increased the number of leisure visitors to the country.

Kazakhstan boasts a wide range of accommodation – from cosy bungalows on the shore of a crystal-clear lake to luxury four and five-star city hotels suitable for all manner of international conferences. All hotels offer genuine Kazakhstani hospitality, western-style comfort and a warm and caring service.

British Airways and Air Astana – a Kazakhstani-British venture – fly regular direct routes to and from London to Almaty’s new state-of-the-art airport. Air Astana is one of the decade’s great airline success stories, setting a top-notch standard in safety and comfort with its new fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft.