According to the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 1,172,933 people went abroad in 2023, which by 20.3% more in comparison with 2022. People aged 25-34 years go to other countries most often (260,804 people), tourists aged 55-64 years least often (111,518 people). How has the number of tourists traveling abroad changed over the year?
Travel expenses
Total outbound tourism expenditures amounted to 326.7 billion tenge in Kazakhstan in 2023, which was 45% more than in 2022.
The expenses for foreign trips increased the most in the Abay region (by 688%), in Shymkent (by 253%) and in the Mangistau region (by 215%). Over the year, the expenditures in the Karaganda and Pavlodar regions have slightly reduced by 1% and 2%, respectively. There is a significant decrease in expenses in the North Kazakhstan and Turkestan regions - by 16% and 15%, respectively.
Expenses of Kazakhstanis on traveling abroad in 2023 increased by 31.4% and were 188.7 billion tenge. Kazakhstanis spent the most on transport services to their destination and back, including the cost of tour packages - 83.3 billion tenge.
As of 2023, travel expenses amounted to 138 billion tenge, or by 69.1% more than in 2022. The main expenditures during the trip were shopping (clothing, shoes, gadgets, food, souvenirs) - 42.7 billion tenge, as well as food - 24.7 billion tenge and hotel accommodation - 19.2 billion tenge.
Travel insurance
Insurance is also on the list of expenses of Kazakhstani tourists for their trips abroad.
According to the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the total volume of insurance premiums for compulsory travel insurance amounted to 6.8 billion tenge in 2023, which was a 24.8% increase compared to 2022. The total volume of insurance premiums for voluntary insurance was 4.3 tenge, or 0.6% more than in 2022.
The cost of both compulsory and voluntary health insurance for Kazakhstani tourists is not fixed and depends on many following factors: which country the tourist is going to, what their route is, transport, for how many days, and so on. The average cost of a mandatory travel insurance policy is 15 euros (7,130 tenge at the current exchange rate).
“The average cost of voluntary insurance under the Freedom Travel program is about 12 thousand tenge. However, depending on the country and length of stay, it can cost about 130 thousand tenge or more. The insurance covers the costs of emergency medical care, emergency dental services, medical transportation of the insured, or, if necessary, the third parties to the country of residence, and other medical services. The payout can range from 10 to 100 thousand euros,” explained the specialists of LIC Freedom Life.
Photos are from open sources.
