At the Government session of the Republic of Kazakhstan chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov considered the issue of development and digitalisation of the tourism industry in the framework of the tasks set by the President of the country.

Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev said that for the purpose of digital transformation conducted re-engineering of 47 business processes. Through this, the main problems of the industry were identified - the lack of a unified digital database, inefficient distribution of support and the presence of illegal tourism service providers.

"To address the problems, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is developing a digital platform. It will automate processes and reduce the influence of the human factor in decision-making. A unified digital register of tour operators will also be created. It will allow citizens to check the legality of services before buying," Zhaslan Madiyev said.

The service of licensing of tour operators in two subspecies has also been introduced and is being provided. The first subspecies is outbound tourism. The second - inbound and domestic tourism. The service is fully automated. In 2024, 680 licences were issued in electronic format.

Meanwhile, startups are actively developing in the sphere of domestic tourism. Zhaslan Madiyev said that startups and technology companies working in the tourism sector are now concentrated in the Astana Hub ecosystem.

"They create digital solutions that allow users to conveniently choose and purchase tours online, as well as automate processes for travel agencies and tour operators," he said.

According to the Ministry, in 2024, the combined revenue of these companies exceeded 8 billion tenge and the number of jobs created exceeded 500.

Along with digital transformation, work is underway to create an appropriate infrastructure base. In this regard, the Minister said, as part of the fulfilment of the President's instruction, comprehensive work on the development of digital infrastructure is being carried out in three key tourist regions of the country.

Measures include expansion of mobile communication and Internet coverage, installation of new Wi-Fi points, construction of antenna-mast structures and connection to fibre-optic networks. In the Almaty region, the Shymbulak resort is provided with high-speed internet and additional Wi-Fi hotspots, including Medeu. The development of communication networks in Kaskelen and Turgeni areas is planned until 2029. In Aktau in 2024, 76 4G base stations will be installed and 67 will be modernised. It is planned to increase 5G coverage to 60% by the end of 2025. In the Shchuchinsk-Borovsk resort zone, antenna-mast structures and Wi-Fi points are being installed in hotels and tourist spots in Burabai and Shchuchinsk.

Work on improving infrastructure and digitalisation of tourism continues. In this context, Zhaslan Madiyev voiced a number of proposals. In particular, the Ministry recommends local executive bodies to accelerate the digitisation of master plans and development plans of settlements where tourist facilities are located. This will make it possible to transfer the procedure of granting land plots for investment projects in the tourism sector to the online format.

To improve the quality of mobile communications in popular tourist areas, the Ministry of Digital Development will work on expanding licensing obligations for telecom operators.

#Digitalization #Government session #Tourism

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