The establishment of multifaceted bilateral cooperation in the sector of tourism was discussed on 28 August 2020 in Lisbon during a meeting between the Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Portugal Daulet Batrashev, and the President of the Portuguese National Tourism Agency “Turismo de Portugal” Luís Araujo.
During the conversation, special attention was paid to the institutionalization of cooperation by establishing direct cooperation between JSC Kazakh Tourism and the Portuguese agency, as well as tourist associations and companies from both countries.
The Kazakh diplomat, noting the measures taken to develop tourism in Kazakhstan, expressed interest in exchanging and adopting experience in the field of development and promotion of the national tourism product in foreign markets, as well as attracting specialized Portuguese companies to Kazakhstan for the implementation of joint projects.
During the meeting, the interlocutors paid special attention to the issues of personnel training in this sphere and introduction of modern methods of tourism management. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan, informing about the start of activities of the first specialized higher education institution in Central Asia – International University of Tourism and Hospitality in Turkestan, stressed the interest in developing academic ties and joint training programs with Portuguese universities, in particular, with the Algarve University Higher School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism.
Luis Araujo, noting Portugal’s considerable experience in the development of tourism, welcomed the development of cooperation between the two countries in this area and expressed readiness to establish institutional cooperation with Kazakhstan’s national agency JSC “Kazakh Tourism” through the signing of a bilateral agreement. The possibility of developing cooperation between relevant universities of the two countries was welcomed with great interest, and the readiness of the Portuguese Agency for joint programs and projects was mentioned.
During the meeting, issues related to overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on international tourism and individual countries were also discussed. An agreement was reached to hold a videoconference between the management of JSC “Kazakh Tourism” and the Agency “Turismo de Portugal” to exchange experience and discuss measures taken and develop new approaches.
