(Yicai) Feb. 21 -- The number of Chinese tourists to Kazakhstan surged 12 times last year from the year before as the Central Asian country joins China’s visa waiver program and looks to encourage more visitors from its giant neighbor.

Some 217,000 visitors from China traveled to Kazakhstan, whose largest city Almaty is only 300 kilometers from the Chinese border, last year, up from 18,000 in 2022, Minister of Tourism and Sports Ermek Marjyqpaev said on Feb. 16.

The whole world is fighting for Chinese tourists and a major goal of Kazakhstan’s tourism sector is to attract more visitors from China, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerzhan Erkinbayev said recently.

China’s “Year of Traveling in Kazakhstan” will kick off next month, Marjyqpaev said. Visitors to Kazakhstan, which is the world’s largest landlocked country, mainly go to admire its stunning natural vistas.

Kazakhstan and China started a mutual visa waiver scheme last November to facilitate the flow of travelers. Immigration inspectors at the Astana International Airport let visitors pass after asking about the purpose of entry and the duration of stay, Yicai learned.

The Central Asian region, which has a weak economy and undeveloped tourism market, lacks tourism services and facilities with inadequate accommodation and poor transportation links. But thanks to this, the region has a relatively intact ecological environment as well as well preserved cultural relics and historical sites.

Uzbekistan, the most populous country in the region, was the first to introduce a short-term visa waiver for Chinese tourists in March 2021. As an ancient country on the Silk Road, Uzbekistan has the richest cultural heritage of the Silk Road in Central Asia. Three of its cities, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, are on the United Nation’s World Heritage List.

Editor: Kim Taylor