Astana is expanding its tourism offerings with Ailand, a modern indoor amusement park spanning 10,000 square meters, local authorities announced, Qazinform News Agency reports. Khalel Akimzhanov, Head of the Astana Department for Investment and Business Development, outlined current tourism indicators and plans during public hearings in the city's Maslikhat (local representative body) on Wednesday.
According to him, 830,000 tourists visited the capital in the first half of 2026, up 12% year on year. The city currently has more than 100 tourist sites and 340 hotels. More than 140 professional guides provide sightseeing services. "In the near future, we plan to open Ailand, a modern indoor amusement park covering 10,000 square meters.
The new facilities will expand tour routes and offer guests new ways to explore the capital," Akimzhanov said. Furthermore, officials are in talks with investors on several hotel infrastructure projects. As the department chief noted, the city is also working to draw more foreign tourists.
Astana has also been developing the 2026–2031 Tourism Industry Strategy. It aims to increase the number of tourists, extend visitors' stay in the city, and boost tourism revenue. Khalel Akimzhanov said officials are now assessing the actual volume of tourist flow and its contribution to the city's economy.
A strategic session with experts, tourism businesses, and Maslikhat deputies took place on August 12. "At the meeting, we discussed further tourism development and promoting Astana as a tourist destination. We have now moved to the third phase of developing the strategy.
At this phase, we are working on initiatives for infrastructure, service quality, city branding, and priority tourism areas. The final phase will produce a roadmap, master plan, and a system of key performance indicators. We plan to complete the strategy in November this year.
After that, the document will be submitted to the Astana Maslikhat for review," he said. Earlier, Qazinform reported that the Tarlan Astana light metro system had recorded more than 10 million passengers since launch.