Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum kicks off
The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, extended a warm welcome to the attendees. He said that the forum has proved its worth as an effective interstate platform and become a crucial institution of political and economic interaction between Kazakhstan and Russia.
"Today's forum is dedicated to an important topical issue - new approaches and trends in the development of tourism in our countries. In present-day conditions, tourism is one of the key growth drivers for the global economy. Creating every tenth job, tourism accounts for 10 percent of the global economy. The tourism industry is attracting hundreds of billions of dollars as direct investments," Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The Head of State of Kazakhstan added that tourism is a growth tool even amid the world economic crisis.
"We need to take systematic measures for the development of bilateral tourism, take advantage of the geographical proximity between our countries... We are completing the elaboration of a five-year tourism development program. We expect an increase in the inflow of tourists to Kazakhstan by 13 million visitors, alongside with the creation of over 60,000 jobs," said President Nazarbayev
This year, the theme of the 15th Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum is "New approaches and trends in the development of tourism in Kazakhstan and Russia.".