ALMATY – Kazakhstan authorities and Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of the tourism sector, together with European and national experts, discussed the ways to make tourism sector in the country more sustainable. A roundtable to strengthen the dialogue between governmental bodies and the tourism business community has been organized today in Almaty by the EU-funded project SUSTOUKA.
The participants exchanged views on current and future incentives provided by the government to boost Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) adoption among tourism sector MSMES, and presented international and national successful business cases for SCP implementation. SCP corresponds to SDG 12, which stands for promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.
Addressing the participants, Mr Johannes Stenbaek Madsen, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Kazakhstan, stated: “The EU supports Kazakhstan in green transition. We are happy to help accelerate the uptake of sustainable consumption and production practices in the tourism sector through this project. It is crucial to facilitate a frank and open-minded dialogue with all relevant stakeholders to build a truly sustainable tourism sector to preserve the natural wealth of your country and create new jobs for local people“.
Mr Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, Vice-Minister at the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, noted “the need to exchange information between governmental institutions and the business community of the tourism sector and thus promote public-private partnerships. This will boost the implementation of SCP practices in the sector and move towards its sustainability”.
Background information
The project “Implementation of SCP practices and sustainability schemes in the MSMEs of the Tourism Sector in Kazakhstan” (SUSTOUKA) is funded by the EU SWITCH-Asia programme. The project’s duration is 36 months (2020-2023). It is implemented by a consortium led by EKOTEK (Project Coordinator) and composed of the European Centre for Eco and Agro Tourism (ECEAT), Kazakhstan Tourist Association (KTA) and Kazakh Association of Hotels and Restaurants (KAGIR).
For more information, please contact Mr Juan Antonio Gascón, SUSTOUKA project coordinator, at: jagascon@ekotek.es; EU Delegation to Kazakhstan at delegation-kazakhstan-pic@eeas.europe.eu.
The project is implemented by:
EKOTEK (www.ekotek.es): jagascon@ekotek.es
ECEAT (www.travelife.eceat.org): n.kusters@eceat-projects.org
KAGIR (www.kagir.kz): info@kagir.kz
KTA (www.kaztour-association.com): kta@kaztour-association.com
This project is funded by the European Union Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Kazakhstan 62, Kosmonavtov str.,7th floor Nur-Sultan 010000, Kazakhstan
Tel: +7 (7172) 97 45 40
Email: delegation-kazakhstan@eeas.europa.eu
Website: https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/kazakhstan
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