Demand for flights to Almaty from Chinese tourists has surged 20-fold in two months following the start of cooperation between Air Astana and China's largest travel platform Ctrip, reports infohub.kz.
According to Almaty's tourism department, the campaign to promote the city in the Chinese tourism market reached over 75.3 million users. This led to a 20-fold increase in ticket sales from Chinese cities to Almaty over two months compared to 2025.
Currently, Chinese tourists prefer independent travel and active recreation. Their most popular destinations include Shymbulak, Kolsai Lakes, and Big Almaty Lake.
Most travelers fly to Almaty from cities with direct flights: Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Xi'an. Their age is 35-49 years. However, there is a trend of Chinese residents aged 25-34 traveling to Almaty, primarily interested in mountain tourism.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that in 2025 Almaty hosted almost 2 million guests. However, on the map of domestic tourism, the city was not in first place — it slightly lags behind the Turkistan region.