Acting Minister of Culture and Sports Askhat Oralov enumerated measures to develop the spheres of culture, creative industries, sports and tourism at the Government session.

The Ministry of Culture plans to develop and support all areas of culture with a focus on the development of domestic cultural content and the involvement of the potential of creative intelligentsia and talented Kazakhstani people. Thus, support will be provided to young talented cultural and art workers to enable them to achieve high international recognition. New competitions and festivals are planned to be created for this purpose.

According to Oralov, the repertoire of all state theatres will be replenished annually with at least one production by domestic authors.

As for the development of the national film industry, including private film companies, there are plans to increase the distribution of Kazakh films in cinemas nationwide to 35% by 2030. There are also plans to promote Kazakh cinema at international festivals and competitions.

"The issue of phased acquisition of projection equipment and mobile cinema units will be worked out to organise comprehensive public-private film distribution in the regions," the Acting Minister of Culture and Sports added.

Museums and libraries will become multifunctional information and leisure centres, providing broad access to cultural values. For this purpose, museum and library collections will be enriched and digitised in stages. Museums and libraries will be transformed into multifunctional institutions, co-working centres using the capabilities of modern information technology.

At the same time, construction and renovation of cultural facilities, including in rural areas, will continue.

The result will be a 3% annual increase in attendance at the country's museums and libraries.

Proposals will be made jointly with local executive bodies and the creative intelligentsia to award the title of "Kazakhstan's Cultural Heritage" on Republic Day.

For systemic support of the domestic creative industries, comprehensive work has already begun on institutionalisation and legislative amendments that will create the foundation of this ecosystem. An in-depth study is planned for 2023 that will identify the creative niches of cities and the required state support measures.

A consultative regulatory policy document has been initiated that will establish a separate corporate fund to support the creative industries, financial and non-financial measures and other instruments. Through the planned measures, it is planned to increase the contribution of creative industries in the economy to 5% by 2025 and the number of SMEs to 80,000.

The next important area of work is the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the development of mass sports. The Ministry is planning a large-scale inventory of functioning physical education and sports facilities.

The development of mass sports requires the provision of adequate infrastructure, especially in rural areas. This can be achieved through the construction of low-budget, flat sports facilities in the form of sports kernels, which do not require the development of design documentation and their maintenance will not be a burden on local budgets; low-cost, rapid construction of modular sports complexes in rural areas, where they are most needed; sports infrastructure within walking distance of physical activity - safe running and cycling paths, sports zones, walking and horseback riding trails.

The sports infrastructure will be monitored accordingly.

Askhat Oralov noted that joint work will be intensified to build sports facilities in accordance with international requirements, as well as within the framework of a public-private partnership mechanism with sports federations and local executive bodies. As a result of the measures taken, the availability of sports infrastructure per 1,000 people will increase to 65% by 2030. The proportion of citizens systematically engaged in physical activity and sports will reach 50% by 2030.

With regard to tourism development, as part of a comprehensive infrastructure solution, work will be carried out to build roads leading to the resort areas and to ensure 100% coverage of the resort areas by mobile telephones. However, there is a need for additional funding for infrastructure projects.

For a systematic approach, akimats should be given the competence to build infrastructure in tourist locations outside populated areas and in national parks.

In order to improve the quality of service, work will continue to improve the competencies and training of the staff employed in the industry. At the same time, work on updating hotel classification and other tourism standards will be strengthened.

Work on digitalisation of the industry will continue. For example, there are plans to ensure 100% coverage of hotels with the eQonaq system, complete digitisation of guide activities and modernise the Kazakhstan.travel portal.

In addition, a favourable climate will be created for foreign tourists. The issue of increasing the list of visa-free countries to 100 and opening new direct flights is being considered.

The implementation of measures aimed at improving the investment climate in the sector will continue, in particular the implementation of major investment projects in tourism destinations with the highest development potential is envisaged.

"These measures will be implemented as part of the new sectoral Concept. As a result, domestic tourists are expected to grow to 11 million and foreign tourists to 4 million. The integrated approach will also increase investment to 260 billion tg. Employment in the sector will reach 800,000 people," Askhat Oralov said in conclusion.