In the first half of 2026, about 830,000 tourists visited Astana. This is 12% more compared with the same period last year. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
Share of foreign tourists
Nearly 187,000 of those arrivals were foreign tourists. The figures were announced by Deputy Akim of Astana Yevgeniy Glotov at the opening of the Kazakhstan Travel Forum 2026 international tourism forum in the capital, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
Annual figures
More than 1.6 million tourists visit the capital every year. On average, the number of tourists coming to the city grows by 10–12% annually.
Glotov's quote
"Astana has long ceased to be a city people visit only for work. Our task today is to create conditions so that a guest does not just come to Astana for a concert or a business meeting, but stays in the city longer and then returns again. Cities around the world are now competing for exactly this kind of tourist, and Astana is actively taking part in that competition," said Yevgeniy Glotov.
Event tourism
Developing event tourism remains one of the key directions. Major international concerts, sports competitions, business and cultural events make it possible to attract additional tourist flows to the capital and increase the length of guests' stay in the city.