Kazakhstan Outstrips Russia, Turkey In Global Sustainable Tourism

In terms of sustainable tourism standards and green transformations, Kazakhstan ranked 62nd on the global ranking covering 99 countries, according to a new report of Top Countries for Sustainable Tourism released by global market research company Euromonitor International.

Kazakhstan fares better than Russia and Turkey in sustainable tourism, placed in the 65th and 66th places, respectively. Uzbekistan took 73rd place.

According to the report, Scandinavia is leading by example in its engagement and progress towards sustainable travel, with Sweden ranked first, followed by Finland, Austria, Estonia, and Norway. The top 20 leading countries in the Sustainable Travel Index are in Europe.

Among the CIS countries, Belarus leads the ranking, placed 26th. Ukraine and Georgia rank 30th and 41st, respectively. Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Moldova were not included in the list.

Kazakhstan is in the top ten for risk in the sustainable travel index. “The country benefits from the large geographical landmass and low rates of endangered fish, mammals and bird species,” the report stated.

The findings extracted from the New Sustainable Travel Index, developed by Euromonitor International, assesses 99 country destinations through seven lenses of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, country risk as well as sustainable tourism demand, transport, and lodging.

The research firm predicted there would be growing awareness among consumers, businesses, and governments to prioritize the planet alongside people and profit when global tourism begins again following travel restrictions across the world.

“There is globally a clear change in mindset and resistance in returning to a volume-driven travel and tourism model. Instead, stakeholders are rallying together to ‘build back better’ through value creation from sustainable tourism. As momentum grows in the run-up to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), consumers, travel brands, destination marketing organizations, and governments will continue to align to avert the climate emergency,” said Caroline Bremner, head of travel research at Euromonitor International.