ITB Berlin 2026 – From Kazakhstan’s Altai to the stars
At ITB Berlin 2026 we learned that Kazakhstan unveiled new tourism milestones: From East Kazakhstan’s debut to easier tourist access to Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Yesterday, the International Tourism Exhibition ITB Berlin 2026 (Internationale Tourismus-Börse) officially started in the capital of Germany. The exhibition brought together numerous countries from around the world, each presenting its tourism potential to an international audience. We attended the tourism exhibition to learn about the latest initiatives and developments Kazakhstan presented this year.
Kazakhstan welcomed visitors to its national pavilion. As in previous years, local tourism operators from Kazakhstan participated to promote travel opportunities across the country. However, this year marked an important milestone: for the first time, the East Kazakhstan Region was introduced at the exhibition. Representatives of local tourism businesses and media outlets showcased the region’s tourism opportunities and cultural richness.
Among them was Altai News, a local media platform that covers news about Kazakhstan and international affairs, with a particular focus on presenting East Kazakhstan to the global community. The general manager of Altai News, Arseniy Dyussenov, spoke about the media outlet’s mission and its potential to promote the region internationally. It is encouraging to see Kazakhstani media building bridges to the world and expanding to the international level.
Another major highlight of the Kazakh pavilion was the renewed presentation of the Baikonur Cosmodrome as a tourist destination. Although Baikonur has previously been open to visitors, access involved strict paperwork and relatively high costs. This year, representatives of Infracos KZ and Qazcosmos announced significant changes. According to them, the cosmodrome is now more accessible, offering simplified and faster procedures and more affordable prices for space enthusiasts and rocket science fans. We also learned as well that the Soyuz-5, in Kazakh Sunkar, is on track for its first flight on 28th of March this year.
In addition, visitors can now see two analogue spacecraft of the famous Soviet shuttle Buran, which are located in the Cosmodrome of Baikonur. Previously, it was not possible to view these spacecraft. The opportunity to see these historic machines up close is exciting news for many visitors, and it has increased interest in space tourism in Kazakhstan.
The exhibition also featured other Kazakh regions and cities. Atyrau from the West Kazakhstan Region and Shymkent from the Turkestan Region were introduced as attractive destinations for international travelers.
The Kazakh pavilion was officially inaugurate with a speech by the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Germany, Nurzhan Onzhanov. The opening ceremony was then followed by the performance of the traditional Kazakh kui Adai, played on the national musical instrument, the Dombra. Overall, Kazakhstan presented in our view important and positive tourism developments at ITB Berlin 2026, demonstrating its growing role in international tourism and its openness to global visitors.
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