Romania is once again a star destination at the Almaty Tourism Fair in Kazakhstan this year, as it represents a gateway to a European holiday experience, says Corina Martin, Vice-President and Secretary General of the Federation of Employers in the Hospitality Industry of Romania (FPIOR).

Now in its 24th edition, the tourism fair in Kazakhstan is taking place from April 22 to 24 and brings together exhibitors from numerous countries, including national pavilions from Georgia, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Azerbaijan, as well as an impressive list of hotels and resorts promoting themselves at the event.

'Two years ago, I proposed for the first time to the Ministry of Economy, Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, as well as to colleagues in the industry, that we should begin promoting ourselves on an extremely important tourist market that Romania had not previously approached. I thank Minister Irineu Darau, as well as fellow hotel operators and tour operators present, alongside the Constanta County Destination Management Organisation and Constanta-Mamaia DMO, for continuing this year to rely on the opportunity and importance of presenting Romanian destinations to the Kazakh tourist market,' said Corina Martin, who is also Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Romania, as quoted in the press release.

According to her, Romania's accession to the Schengen area has turned it into a star destination at the tourism fair, where tour operators from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and other Asian countries are highly interested and present in large numbers at Romania's stand, as in previous years.

'While at any tourism fair in Europe Romania is just one of many countries present and is often overshadowed by large and generous stands of competing destinations with much bigger promotion budgets, at the fair in Kazakhstan we are a star destination, as we represent a gateway to a European holiday experience. Moreover, the costs of participating with Romania's stand at this fair are among the lowest compared with other tourism fairs,' Corina Martin added.

She also noted that the largest foreign investment in Romania employs several thousand Kazakh workers at the Petromidia refinery in Navodari and the Vega refinery in Ploiesti. They are visited each year by relatives, families and friends, who return home and speak about Romania's nature, landscapes, traditions and unique tourist attractions, including Bran Castle, Peles Castle in Sinaia, the Transfagarasan road, Transylvania, the Danube Delta and multi-ethnic Dobrogea, with its diverse coastline and Ana Aslan rejuvenation therapies, considered among the favourites.

'Today we held an official bilateral meeting with the President of JSC Kazakh National Tourism, Talgat Gazizev, in which we presented the current stage of cooperation aimed at increasing tourist flows between Romania and Kazakhstan, now in its third year. Together with representatives of the Ministry, we highlighted the potential for expanding cooperation and presented proposals considered of real interest by the Kazakh side. In the coming weeks, we will work on a memorandum and concrete implementation steps. In addition, as LOT Polish Airlines will introduce, for the first time this year, a direct flight between Warsaw and Almaty, and as the Polish capital is well connected by air with Romanian cities, an inaugural info trip will be organised for Romanian tour operators in Almaty, as well as for Kazakh tour operators in Romania, in partnership with LOT,' the FPIOR Vice-President added.

During the event, a meeting will also take place with the President of the Almaty Tourism Organisation to establish joint promotional actions.

Corina Martin further stated that the Port of Constanta has become a major hub of interest in the movement of goods between the Caucasus region and Western Europe, which has led to a significant increase in business travel between Kazakhstan and Romania. In this context, Kazakh officials and businesspeople are discovering Romania, a country previously under-promoted on this market, which they later wish to revisit as tourists. This year, the symbolic image of Romania's stand is the Constanta Casino. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Cristian Anghelache; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)