OREANDA-NEWS. September 27, 2011. From 27 to 29 September 2011, Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, will host AstanaLeisure 2011, the 8th Kazakhstan International Tourism Exhibition.

The event is organised by Iteca (Kazakhstan) and ITE Group Plc (UK), together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“Young Astana – Eurasia’s Centre of Gravity” is the slogan of the exhibition, to which special importance has been attached by the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence, which is being celebrated this year. The main part of the exhibition will be taken up by the stands of Kazakhstan’s regions.

Talgat Ermegiyaev, Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, comments on the importance of the event: “The AstanaLeisure 2011 exhibition is being held on our professional holiday, World Tourism Day, and a significant event for our country, the 20th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Industry events such as AstanaLeisure, which is being held in our capital city for the eighth time, play a significant role in the effective promotion of Kazakhstan as an attractive tourist destination, and in the implementation of measures for the sustainable development of the domestic tourism industry. Along with the tourism potential of Kazakhstan, the AstanaLeisure exhibition presents the latest destinations in the autumn-winter tourism season.”

Compared with last year, the exhibition has grown by 20%. The event will feature 60 companies from Argentina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, UAE, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Switzerland. Four national tourism organisations will present national stands at AstanaLeisure, which reflects both the interest in Kazakhstan’s tourism market and the prestige of the event. Along with the traditional national stands of Thailand and Turkey, for the first time the National Tourism Organisation of Georgia has come to Astana. The central stand at the exhibition will be that of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s regions will occupy an important place at the exhibition: hotels, boarding houses and health resorts will be presented both individually and at the the stands of the regional administrations and administrations of Astana and Almaty.

Major tour operators, including Kazunion and Gulnar Tour, will showcase offerings in Kazakhstan’s tourism market for the autumn-winter season.

Five airlines from four countries will participate in AstanaLesiure 2011: Air Astana (Kazakhstan), Ukraine International Airlines (Ukraine), SCAT (Kazakhstan), Turkish Airlines (Turkey) and Etihad Airways (UAE). Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), which operates about 200 flights every week to Western Europe and Asia, is the official sponsor of AstanaLeisure 2011.

Newcomers and new products at the exhibition

Ankistur, a leading tour operator from Argentina, is participating for the first time in AstanaLeisure. This is also the first time that a company from Argentina has participated in a travel event in Kazakhstan.

AstanaLeisure 2011 will present internet technologies for the tourism industry, including: the Abacus Central Asia (Kazakhstan) and Amadeus G D S (Kazakhstan) booking systems, and information technology for the travel industry from Set Magazinov Goryashchikh Putevok (Kazakhstan/Russia) and Broni.ru (Russia).

Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage tours will be presented at the exhibition for the first time by Al Minara (Kazakhstan).

Exhibitors will also present traditional autumn-winter season destinations, such as United Arab Emirates, Thailand, and Hainan (China).

AstanaLeisure is officially supported by the Astana City Administration and World Tourism Organization of the United Nations (UNWTO).

Zoltan Somogy, UNWTO Executive Director, underlines the role and importance of the event: “For the UNWTO organisation, Kazakhstan has always been and remains a reliable partner and leader of tourism in Central Asia, and the tourism exhibition in Astana is a business platform for cooperation between professionals from international and local markets. We are confident that AstanaLeisure 2011 will, as always, effectively present this year’s best travel products and destinations. For our part, we would like to wish all the exhibitors and visitors success in their meetings and negotiations. Good luck to all in the autumn-winter tourist season!”