TravTalk India Online Magazine
Kazin DMC, in association with Valmiki Travel & Tourism Solutions, organised an educational seminar, Know Kazakhstan, for the travel trade in Hyderabad recently to promote the destination. Dr. Nawab Mir Nasir Ali Khan, Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, was the chief guest at the event.
Nisha Verma
Valmiki Hari Kishan, Managing Director, Valmiki Travel and Tourism Solutions, welcomed the guests and felicitated the chief guest and speakers at the seminar. Rohit Shorey, Ambassador for M!CE Tourism to Kazakhstan and Founder & CEO, Kazin DMC, apprised a selected gathering of trade about the various offerings and new destinations in Kazakhstan and how the destination is well-suited for Indian guests.
Speaking about the business from India, Shorey said, “The response we are getting is very positive. In 2022, real business started from April for the destination. We are getting a lot of M!CE and many high-end family groups. Even for New Year we had a huge number of bookings.”
When it comes to source markets within India, Shorey said, they are getting visitors from across the country. “We are getting business from almost every corner of India. However, we are getting a very positive response form South India, especially during winters as South Indians want to enjoy the snow. Thus, it’s a very important market in addition to, of course, Mumbai and Kolkata. However, Delhi isn’t in one of our top 10 source markets. We get a lot of business from other north Indian states like UP, Punjab and Rajasthan. Our marketing efforts have been more geared towards other cities other than Delhi so far, and we are trying to fix that. India is our main source market, but we are also trying to get business from Middle East, especially Dubai, as we have a sales office there as well. Apart from that, Qatar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, are also in focus,” he said.
In terms of marketing efforts, he shared that they are increasing their sales team next year. “We are going to have a salesperson dedicated to South India. We will have one for East and West as well. Apart from that, we will participate in travel shows and do a lot of roadshows. We are very strong in social media. We are trying to create as much awareness as we can. We are travelling a lot and meeting a lot of agents. We are now close to about 1,500 agents, who are working with us or at least giving us queries. So, in 2023 we will put in more efforts to create awareness about this beautiful destination,” he added.
He informed that M!CE numbers are increasing. “We are taking very big M!CE groups to Almaty. In fact, the biggest group we did pre-COVID was about 800 passengers for Dulux through another B2B company, Greenlam. M!CE is a big aspect of what we are doing, but we also have a niche destination with golf tours, women groups, and cultural groups. The country has so much to offer – everything from shopping, nightlife, culture, scenery and hiking trips — the list is endless,” said Shorey.
When it comes to being an economical destination, Shorey said that Kazakhstan ticks all boxes. “The local currency of Kazakhstan – Tenge has devalued over the last years (1INR=5.5 Tenge). Thus, it’s economical. Eating out doesn’t burn your pocket and it’s probably cheaper than a decent restaurant in India. In fact, for the same money, it would be a better restaurant,” he claimed.
Khan, in his address, shared that the government in Kazakhstan is focusing a lot on film tourism. “We have asked for incentives for film shooting, like free import of equipment and tax rebates on the same,” he added.
