The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan has named the five most visited centers in the national parks of Kazakhstan, El.kz reports.
According to statistics for the first half of 2023, the most visited centers are Turgensai in the Turgen Gorge and Ayusay in the Ile-Alatau State National Nature Park in the Almaty region. The total number of visitors was 258,632.
In second place in the ranking in terms of attendance is the Sharyn visitor center, located in the Charyn canyon of the Almaty region. In its first six months, it attracted 49,332 visitors.
The third in terms of the number of visitors is the visitor center in Zerendy, Akmola region, where 11,709 people visited in the first half of this year.
In addition, over 7,000 people visited the center of the Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve in the Akmola region, and more than 6,000 people visited the Altyn Emel Visitor Center in the national park of the same name in the Almaty region.
Visitor centers in national parks occupy no more than 5% of the total area of specially protected natural areas and operate without harm to the environment. They provide information about the place of stay and rules for visiting, as well as provide catering and temporary accommodation services.
Such facilities are aimed at popularizing ecological tourism, the demand for which is growing in Kazakhstan every year, said Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Yerkinbayev.