The capital of Kazakhstan was recognized as the most expensive tourist city in the CIS. The rating did not include Russian cities.
The analytical agency TurStat has compiled a rating of the most popular CIS cities for travel in the summer of 2017.
The top ten most popular CIS cities among Russian tourists include two Kazakh megacities – Astana and Almaty, as well as Baku, Minsk, Yerevan, Tashkent, Chisinau, Bishkek, Kiev and Ashgabat. Astana is in the lead.
The rating was compiled based on the results of an analysis of the offers of tour operators and online hotel booking systems.
The popularity of the above-mentioned cities is largely due to the holding of large events with a rich entertainment program. In Astana, this is the EXPO-2017 World Exhibition, in Baku – the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which will be held from June 23 to 25, and the Zhara music festival, scheduled for July 27-30 this year. The Freaky Summer Party art picnic will be held in Minsk on June 23-24, and the Most music festival will be held on July 2.
Tourists who book tours to relax on Lake Issyk-Kul mostly come to Bishkek in summer.
According to Turstat, trips to Astana and Baku hit tourists’ pockets the most. Guests of the city spend an average of 3.5 days in Astana and spend $ 80 per day on a hotel. Tourists come to Baku for 5 days and pay $ 75 per day for accommodation. The cheapest cities for tourists in the CIS are Ashgabat and Bishkek ($30 and $ 32 per night at the hotel).
To facilitate the stay of tourists in the capital of Kazakhstan and reduce their costs, two pilot projects have been launched in Astana – tourist cards AstanaCityPASS and EXPOCityPASS.
“Public transport, a hop-on hop-off city tour on double–decker buses, queue-free entry to museums and attractions of Astana, special offers and discounts on restaurants, hotels, and a lot of entertainment are available for 72 hours,” the Mayor’s Office of Astana reports.
The CityPASS tourist’s single card consists of a plastic card, a travel guide in four languages (Russian, Kazakh, English and Chinese), a city map and a SIM card.
A plastic smart card will open the doors of all the main attractions of the city. After paying once, you do not need to buy additional tickets. To pass, it is enough to present a card at the ticket office of the facility, which is included in the free program.
A single CityPASS tourist card can be purchased on the official website www.citypass .kz, as well as at the points of sale indicated on the website.
By the end of 2017, it is planned to open a single tourist card in Almaty – AlmatyCityPASS
По материалам: www.informburo.kz
