First tourist circuit in Kazakhstan to be launched March 2022, at price of 1K euro (RESTO's Martin)

A few hundred Romanian tourists could reach Kazakhstan next year, the first circuit in this country to be launched in March 2022, stated, Corina Martin, honorary chairman of the RESTO Constanta Owners' Association, agerpres reports.

Furthermore, several thousand Kazakh tourists could come on vacation in Romania, following a project ran by the Mistral tourism agency and tour operators in Kazakhstan.

"We're on our third programme to promote incoming, bringing foreign tourists to Romania. We initiated the cooperation with the Russian tour operators, then operators from Istanbul (Turkey) and now, Kazakhstan, but we are preparing to attack the Japanese market too, the next project for Mistral Tours. Through the launching of the Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Istanbul circuit, a unique combination nobody has done, with departure from Constanta, we had extraordinarily high success starting with 2018," said Corina Martin, who is also the owner of the Mistral Tours & Events tourism agency.

She emphasized that this year, for the first time, several tourism agencies from Kazakhstan arrived in Romania, and now they want to sell holidays to Romania for Kazakh tourists. The introduction of charter flights between Constanta and Almaty would bring Kazakhs to Romania on a circuit that would include several destinations and would take, of course, Romanians to the Asian country.

She mentioned that in September the representatives of several tourism agencies in Kazakhstan visited for two days the north and south of the littoral, both all inclusive resorts, as well as hotels with wellness and spa facilities, which used Gerovital products, already known to the Kazakhs. Furthermore, they also visited the Danube Delta, "an extremely lauded and appreciated product," but also Peles Castle, with the final point of the circuit to Romania being Bucharest.

According to the quoted source, the second stage of the project regards the promotion of Kazakhstan as a destination for Romanian tourists, a unique destination, but still a niche one.

The chair of RESTO Constanta expressed regret that Romania, for several years, has had no campaign to attract foreign tourists and still remains dependent on the Romanian tourists' market.

"We could draw northern tourists, Russian tourists, Kazakh tourists, why not, in months such as April, May, June, of course July, August, September and October. Unfortunately, I repeat, in the absence of any strategy and any vision to promote Romanian tourism, it fell on us, a few tour operators or a few organizations in tourism (...) to do what Romania should have actually done," said Corina Martin.

A vacation in Kazakhstan is estimated to reach around 1,000 euro for seven nights, says the agency representative.

Among the advantages of such a destination, she mentioned the unique history of this country, the legends of nomads and gastronomy.

"Kazakhstan, I believe, draws a lot through the uniqueness of its history, through these legends that some of us have perhaps heard more about, some of us wanted to learn more about, the history of nomads, the country of the Great Steppe for example. There are unique experiences that we can't find in Europe. It's a very big advantage. I believe in Kazakhstan you get a lesson in history, of a culture different than the European one, a different gastronomic experience. There are 120 ethnicities living together in a very interesting way from a gastronomic and cultural perspective, a very diverse experience, very rich that you can't find in a European capital," said Corina Martin.

Mistral Tours & Events, the RESTO Constanta Owners' Association and Turkish Airlines Constanta are organizing between November 9 - 16 an informative circuit in Kazakhstan to consolidate the partnership started with Kazakh tour operators. This visit benefits from the support of the Kazakh Embassy in Romania and the Romanian Embassy in Nur-Sultan.