Almaty retains title of most visited city in Kazakhstan by international tourists
Kazakh Tourism analyzed information on tourist accommodations provided by the eQonaq data system, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The Top 3 popular destinations in Kazakhstan in 2024 remained unchanged compared to 2023. Noteworthy, Almaty region saw a rise in international arrivals, while Shymkent city and Aktobe region reported a decrease.
The analysis included data from 525 tourist accommodations in Kazakhstan registered in the eQonaq data system.
It claims that the city of Almaty recorded the highest number of nights spent in tourist accommodations by foreign tourists. It welcomed 534,340 tourists in 2024 that is 70,000 more against 2023.
Recently CNN included Almaty in the Top 25 places worth visiting in 2025.
As earlier reported, 1.7 mln tourists visited Almaty in 2024. Noteworthy, it won The Best Tourist Destination nomination in Qatar.
Astana is the second most popular destination among foreign tourists boasting 269,320 arrivals in 2024. As written before, on October 30, the Kazakh capital of Astana became an official member of the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) under the Visit Astana brand.
The number of international tourists arrived in Almaty region jumped by 59% to 134,763. The region rounded out the Top 3 most visited regions of Kazakhstan.
Atyrau and Mangistau regions are placed fourth and fifth correspondingly. 106,974 foreign tourists travelled to the country’s oil region last year that is 27% more compared to 2023. 71,462 visited Mangistau region in 2024 against 67,633 registered in 2023.
Karaganda region became more popular among international tourists. It climbed three spots up to rank sixth. Foreign arrivals grew by 35% last year to reach 50,474.
Aktobe region fell one spot recording a decrease by over 1,500 foreign tourists to make 45,063.
Akmola and Zhambyl regions rank eighth and ninth with 44,976 and 44,226 foreign arrivals. Both regions saw a rise in tourist flow.
The city of Shymkent rounded out the Top 10 dropping five places. According to the eQonaq system some 39,887 foreign tourists spent nights at the city tourist accommodations in 2024 that is 900 people less than in 2003.
Over 1.5 million international tourists stayed in the tourist accommodations registered in the eQonaq data system in 2024 throughout Kazakhstan.
As earlier reported, 1.7 mln tourists visited Almaty in 2024. Noteworthy, it won The Best Tourist Destination nomination in Qatar.
It is worth reminding President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping announced 2025 the Year of China’s Tourism in Kazakhstan.
