KITF 2025 EXHIBITION STARTED IN ALMATY: NEW DESTINATIONS, GROWTH OF INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION AND FOCUS ON TOURISM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DIALOGUE
TODAY, APRIL 23, ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED EXHIBITIONS IN THE FIELD OF TOURISM AND TRAVEL - THE 23RD KAZAKHSTAN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AND TRAVEL EXHIBITION - KITF 2025 - STARTED AT THE ATAKENT EXHIBITION CENTER.
The event once again confirmed its status as a leading professional site for establishing international contacts, promoting tourism destinations and developing inbound, outbound and domestic tourism.
The exhibitors included 533 companies from 31 countries, such as Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Vietnam, Greece, Georgia, Egypt, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Qatar, China, Cuba, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Malaysia, the Maldives, the UAE, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, South Korea, and Japan. National and regional stands were presented by 15 countries and 14 regions of Kazakhstan, as well as Gyeonggi Province (South Korea).
In 2025, the number of participants increased by more than 8% compared to the previous year. 93 Kazakhstani and 438 international representatives presented their products at the exhibition, which indicates the increased interest of international companies in the Kazakhstani market, which is becoming increasingly attractive for investors and manufacturers in the tourism sector. The companies that presented their stands as debutants were: GTO KZ, SATGURU TRAVEL & TOUR SERVICES, My Travel, MAYERVEDA Kislovodsk, Qazaq Auyl, SIA DREAM VOYAGE, HTF Limited. Also, for the first time, new tourism destinations - Latvia and the United Kingdom were presented within the framework of the expo event, whose participation expands the geography of the exhibition and opens up additional opportunities for mutual tourism exchange.
The exhibition began its work with the official opening ceremony, which was held with the participation of Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, the Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Galiya Tokseitova, the Head of Tourism Department of Almaty city, Boris Danilenko, the Director of Iteca Kazakhstan Exhibition Company, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions, Embassies and Consulates General of the participating countries, representatives of industry associations and unions. Representatives of diplomatic missions and international business communities of Azerbaijan, Armenia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Malaysia, UAE, Romania, USA, Thailand, Turkey, and Uzbekistan visited the KITF exhibition to develop business contacts and support their national companies.
Ye. Yerkinbayev in his welcoming speech noted: “Our joint efforts aimed at developing tourism are bearing fruit. As a result, last year the number of domestic tourists exceeded 10.5 million people, an increase of 900 thousand compared to 2023. 15.3 million foreign guests arrived in our country. Of these, 10.4 million people spent more than 1 day”. The KITF exhibition also plays a certain role in developing the tourism potential. “KITF is not just an exhibition. It is a site for dialogue, exchange of experience and strengthening trust. And I am sure that during these days new initiatives will be born, agreements will be signed and joint projects will be launched - all this will move our industry forward”, Ye. Yerkinbayev emphasized.
Internal meetings of representatives of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Kazakhstan with colleagues from the tourism departments of Armenia, Romania, and Uzbekistan were held at the exhibition site. Such intercountry negotiations demonstrate an unprecedented interest in international cooperation and a desire to strengthen bilateral ties in the field of tourism.
A number of memorandums of cooperation were also signed. Visit Astana and Visit Almaty signed a memorandum on the development of mutually beneficial partnership in the field of tourism with the aim of promoting tourism at the domestic and international levels, taking into account the strategic tasks on increasing the tourism attractiveness of Astana and Almaty.
In parallel with the exhibition, the KITF Travel Forum with this year’s topic - TREND ZONE: BEYOND TRAVEL started in the seminar zones. The content of the first day’s program included 5 sessions dedicated to global changes, business adaptation, new technologies and key trends in tourism development. A large number of listeners were attracted by such sessions as: “Next-gen travel: strategies and industry transformation”, “New routes: Asian boom, combi-tours, digital visas and paperless borders”, “Aviation 2025+: new routes, competition in the sky and the race for passengers”, “High-personalization and technologies: from big data, AI to predictive tourism”, “AMBASSADOR TRAVEL: How bloggers are becoming the main players in the industry”.
Each session became a source of practical cases and analytical forecasts, providing participants with relevant tools for adapting to changes and building effective strategies in the conditions of a transforming tourism market.
The business program of the forum will operate throughout all three days of the exhibition, offering rich content and new ideas for the professional community. The unique format of KITF Travel Forum allows not only to gain valuable knowledge, but also to actively interact with colleagues, participate in live discussions, panel sessions and networking. Thanks to this, KITF Travel Forum becomes an integral part of the professional development of participants and an important platform for strategic dialogue in the travel industry.
For the first time, cooperation with the Umai Art School was implemented, a specialized section KITF SILKROAD TRAVEL dedicated to active and adventure tourism was launched, and the topic of gastronomic tourism was returned to the exposition at the Taste & Travel site.
For more effective networking between tourism industry professionals, a new communication format – a coffee rave was introduced.
Every year, interest in participation in the exhibition grows, and its scale and geography expand, which testifies to the growing importance of Kazakhstan as a strategic center of international tourism. KITF is not only a showcase of tourism products, but also a space for opportunities, opening the way to sustainable development of the industry in the region and beyond.
Official Partners: KOMPAS TOUROPERATOR, Georgian National Tourism Administration
Business Program Partners: Trand Buro and Success Travel Academy
Official support is provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Akimat of Almaty city, Kazakh Tourism National Company JSC, Kompas, and Kazakhstan Tourism Association ALE.
The exhibition doors will be open until April 25 inclusive. We are waiting for tourism industry professionals to pre-register on the event website.
