ASTANA – In 2023, 1,975 children enjoyed 920 tours offered by 13 travel companies in Kazakhstan, getting free flights as part of the Kids Go Free program, the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s press service reported.
The Kids Go Free initiative is a family-oriented holiday program designed to boost domestic tourism in Kazakhstan. Launched in January 2022, the program provides complimentary air travel for children aged two to 17, subsidizing passengers for tours within Kazakhstan when purchased from a licensed tour operator specializing in domestic tourism.
This initiative allows parents to avoid paying for the airfare of their minor children during vacations within the country, provided they acquire a complete tour package from a licensed travel company.
In 2023, the amount of compensation reached 90 million tenge ($199,226), with the overall tour sales generating 458 million tenge ($1 million).
The most popular destination was lake Alakol with 637 children enjoying free flights, resulting in a compensation of 10.7 million tenge ($23,686).
Next was Almaty, where 561 children traveled for free. Compensation reached 31.9 million tenge ($70,615).
The Caspian coast took the third spot, hosting over 350 children in the past year through the program, with a compensation of 25.5 million tenge ($56,447).
Aktau remained a hotspot for tour packages exceeding one million tenge ($2,214).
In 2022, the Kids Go Free program facilitated 692 tours worth 373 million tenge ($825,681). A total of 1,430 children flew during the year, and the compensation hit 76.2 million tenge ($168,678).
