Tengrinews.kz – While many Kazakhstanis dream of celebrating the New Year under palm trees or by a Christmas tree on Times Square, some foreigners have made the opposite choice - to spend the holidays in Kazakhstan. Tengrinews.kz asked the Ministry of Tourism and Sports how many visitors came to the country for the New Year holidays and which cities turned out to be the most popular.
How many tourists arrived
According to the eQonaq system, from 30 December to 4 January, 6,924 foreign tourists arrived in Kazakhstan.
The largest cities welcomed the most guests:
- Almaty – 2,770 tourists;
- Astana – 1,198 people.
The top five most popular regions also included:
- Atyrau region;
- North Kazakhstan region;
- Akmola region.
Where the visitors came from
Russia became the leader in terms of the number of tourists who celebrated the New Year in Kazakhstan — 2,870 people arrived from there.
Other countries from which guests most frequently came include:
- Uzbekistan – 857;
- China – 732;
- India – 647;
- Kyrgyzstan – 217;
- Tajikistan – 187;
- UAE – 182;
- Turkey – 141;
- USA – 108;
- Philippines – 95.
For comparison, during the holiday period from 26 December to 4 January 2024, Kazakhstan welcomed about 23,000 foreign visitors who chose the country for a winter vacation.