Kazakhstan will keep track of tourist flows using mobile data. Statistics will be collected based on anonymized information from telecom operators, authorities said.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the move will allow the government to better understand how many people actually travel within the country, including one-day trips without overnight stays. Until now, the main tool for tracking foreign tourists was the eQonaq.kz system.
As Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerbol Myrzabosynov noted, the new system will help not only to understand the real load on resorts, but also to improve infrastructure development planning.
«Keeping statistics based on anonymized data from telecom operators will allow us to calculate the need for sanitary and hygienic facilities, determine the real load on resort areas, plan the construction of infrastructure, and assess the investment attractiveness of the region,» Myrzabosynov said.
The method was already tested by the Bureau of National Statistics in 2024. Analyzing movements based on smartphone signals proved to be a more accurate source of information.
According to Maksat Turlubayev, head of the National Statistics Bureau, Kazakhstan is set to become the first country in the CIS to officially include mobile data in tourism statistics. A similar approach is already being used in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Estonia and Indonesia.
In early April, Myrzabosynov reported that the government also plans to use tourists’ card payment data to analyze their contribution to the national economy.
In March, the Ministry of Tourism unveiled its new approach to tourism development. Authorities stated they would focus on attracting wealthier tourists rather than simply increasing visitor numbers.
Last year, Kazakhstan welcomed more than 15 million foreign tourists, with an average stay of four days.
In particular, the country has seen a surge in visitors from Gulf nations, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, citing data from the National Security Committee’s (KNB) Border Service, the number of Arab tourists increased by 62% in 2024.
