Sustainable Tourism in Kazakhstan

Promoting Sustainable Production and Consumption Practices and Establishing Public-Private Partnerships in the Tourism Sector in Kazakhstan Round Table

The Secretariat for the SDGs spoke about the role of government agencies in the implementation of SDGs policies and practices, as well as existing barriers and opportunities for the development of sustainable production and consumption on the example of the tourism sector. 

Sustainable Tourism in Kazakhstan Round Table: Dialogue with government agencies and SMEs was held on November 17 in Almaty.

Main discussion topics:

• Is sustainable consumption and production a driver for the transition to a green economy and low-carbon development?
• What are the policies and practices of sustainable consumption and production in the tourism sector?
• What is the role of government agencies in the implementation of sustainable development policies and practices?
• National and foreign experts shared their experience and presented successful cases. 

The conference was attended by Johannes Stenbaek Madsen, the Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, the Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakh Tourism NC JSC, Zulfira Zikrina, the key expert of the SWITCH - Asia Program, Yerlan Karimov, the Deputy Director of ERI Secretariat for the SDGs, Juan Gascon, ECOTECH Project Manager, Naut Kusters, the Director of the European Center for Eco- and Agrotourism (the Netherlands).

Yerlan Karimov, the Deputy Director of the Secretariat for the SDGs of Economic Research Institute (ERI) JSC, took part in the event.

The ERI expert spoke about the ongoing work of interagency working groups within the framework of promoting the SDGs implementation in Kazakhstan. His presentation included information on the institutional framework for the SDGs implementation in the country, national projects in the SDGs and tourism, as well as on the existing barriers and opportunities for the development of sustainable production and consumption.

Yerlan Karimov also spoke about the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and, in particular, on the tourism sector in Kazakhstan, and announced the main measures to support the tourism sector as envisaged in the National Project "On Entrepreneurship Development" until 2025.

Johannes Stenbaek Madsen, the Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan noted that Kazakhstan is a key trade and economic partner of the EU in Central Asia, so the EU is ready to cooperate with Kazakhstan on the transition of the economy to more sustainable methods of production and consumption.

"We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children. Therefore, we must leave our land for the next generations clean and in good condition," Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, the Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Tourism NC JSC said.

Zulfira Zikrina, the key Expert of the SWITCH- Asia Program, spoke in detail about the ongoing projects in the field of sustainable tourism in the country, about successful cases that may positively affect the sustainable trend in the tourism development.

Naut Kusters, Director of the European Center for Eco- and Agrotourism (the Netherlands) shared his knowledge in the field of advanced methods of introducing environmentally friendly production used in the EU and shared his experience in implementing the "circular economy" tools.