Northstar

TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA I T B A S I A S H O W D A I L I E S www.travelweekly-asia.com 24 17 OC TOBER 2018 NATURE BECKONS IN KAZAKHSTAN T he central Asian country hopes to increase its number of inbound and outbound tourists to 13 million visitors per year from the current three million. Numbers have been positive as the first quarter of 2018 saw a 29.4% increase in international tourists visiting Kazakhstan at 1,780,000, compared to the same period last year, with arrivals from India increasing by an encouraging 68%. By 2023, the government aims to increase the tourism's contribution to GDP to 8% from 1.3%. To make this happen, the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sport new tourism strategy includes developing a tourism map of the country's major tourists sites taking into consideration historic and cultural significance. These include the beautiful Alakol Lake, the Almaty region mountain cluster, Balkhash Lake, Bayanaul National Park, Imantau and Shalkar areas, Burabi and Schuchinsk areas, Charyn Canyon, Mangistau beach and Turkestan. The government's next step will be to improve infrastructure to these locations and the ministry has already announced a plan to link ski resorts in Almaty mountains with a cableway. Another initiative to support the tourism industry is the establishment of a new university focusing in international tourism and hospitality. It will offer diplomas and adopt teaching methods of renowned hospitality institutions such as the George Washington University, the Hong Kong School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Salzburg Institute of Hotel and Tourism Management and certain educational institutions in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. MICE is another area that the government will be focusing on developing to drive tourist numbers. In fact, the 2019 World Tourism Organization Global Urban Tourism Summit will be held in the Kazkh capital. BY AUDREY NG VISIT BOOTH: C44 WTTC chief says destinations are finding solutions to overtourism Gloria Guevara has been president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) for more than a year – time enough for her to embrace the challenges that destinations face when too many tourists intrude on the lives of locals. The debate about overtourism has been gathering momentum, with cities, such as Kyoto in Japan, and countries such as Laos and New Zealand, introducing a tourism tax to put a brake on visitor numbers and, at the same time, to pay for the upkeep of facilities under the most stress from visitors. Guevara, a former tourism minister in her native Mexico, advocates a different approach. She believes there are good examples of destinations that have heeded the concerns of the local communities and brought about change through consultation between private and public bodies. "If you look at Dubrovnik, the cruise ships were arriving on the same day at the same time, and consequently the place was overrun. It wasn't a nice experience for the city or the tourists. "It's like having a dinner party at home where you can seat 40 people, and you invite 150. You have to close your door." She said Dubrovnik began to plan long-term. "They spoke to the cruise lines to get them to stagger arrivals. They asked local restaurants to reorganise, they closed some roads. These decisions were a bit controversial but now the problem of overcrowding is being solved." Santorini, another destination straining under the weight of tourist numbers, is following the example of Dubrovnik and engaging with the local community to make long- term planning decisions about the number of tourists the island can accommodate. "Greece is taking a lead," Guevara says. "They are being very successful in breaking up tourism seasonality. They are promoting second cities and building products, and they will drive visitors to the regions." Barcelona, where tourism numbers were down 20% in August, has not been so successful in introducing measures to keep tourists and locals happy. "Efforts in Barcelona to unite the private and public sectors are being hampered by political flak," Guevara says. "What is interesting is that 50% of residents who responded to a survey said tourism was bad for Barcelona. But when those same people were asked whether they were directly affected by the number of tourists visiting the city, 98% said, 'Absolutely not'." Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of WTTC By Ian Jarrett Dubrovnik is working on the challenge of too many tourists arriving at the same time. PHOT0 CREDIT: LEIGHCOL/GETTYIMAGES. "Greece is taking a lead... they are being very successfully in breaking up tourism seasonality." Kazakhstan is working to attract more to its natural and cultural sites. PHOT0 CREDIT: AURELIY/GETTYIMAGES.

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