ASTANA – This summer, Kazakhstan is expected to be a key lure for Chinese tourists, alongside traditional destinations like Japan and Thailand, reported Kazinform on June 24. Photo credit: ZinaidaSopina/Shutterstock According to Cirium, an aviation analytics website, Kazakhstan, one of Asia’s fastest-growing destinations, benefits from its inclusion in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, enhancing its appeal to the world’s largest travel market. South Korea and Japan have already seen a surge of Chinese tourists after their currencies weakened against the yuan.
At the same time, Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia and Thailand lure tourists with visa-free entry and relatively lower costs. Among these destinations, Kazakhstan particularly stands out. ForwardKeys travel website’s data suggests an impressive growth in travel from China, which is expected to outpace even the robust increases seen in countries like Singapore and Malaysia.
“Other destinations that are expected to outpace 2019 levels show hints of geopolitical influence. Türkiye, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan top the list of countries expected to see an increase in travel from China,” according to Cirium. The return of Chinese tourists is an important phenomenon in the global tourism industry and is critical to the sector’s recovery following the pandemic.
Trip.com Group Ltd. reports that outbound travel from China is set to dou.
