Traversing the Gorelnyk and Ayusay gorges for hiking becomes a secure, entertaining, and instructive experience through the visited centers
Almaty's Mountain Infrastructure to Boost Tourism with Visitor Centers
The city of Almaty is set to enhance its mountain tourism with the development of visitor centers, as discussed by Mayor Bakytzhan Sagintayev on his Instagram account. These centers, which are part of a larger effort to create a comprehensive mountain tourism ecosystem, will serve multiple functions, including providing information, ensuring safety, facilitating cultural interaction, and offering amenities for tourists.
The visitor centers, such as those planned for Gorelnik and Aysai gorges, are designed to be multifunctional nodes supporting adventure tourism, cultural enrichment, safety, and sustainable community development. They will offer comprehensive information and support services, ensure safety through rescue and emergency stations, facilitate cultural interaction via ethnographic displays and gastronomic experiences, and promote sustainable eco-tourism by engaging local communities in tourism-related economic activities.
The Alatau Amanaty project, launched in July 2025, is a key driver in this development. This national tourist trail spans over 1,200 km, crossing 24 infrastructure sites and 20 settlements around Almaty's mountain areas. Visitor centers are integral to this system, alongside rescue stations and ethno-cultural tourism venues, aiming to create a complete ecosystem for both domestic and international tourists.
The benefits of these visitor centers extend beyond just tourism. They are designed to promote sustainable tourism, enhance visitor experience, and involve local communities economically. This aligns with international trends of integrated mountain tourism clusters focusing on ecological preservation, cultural heritage, and adventure tourism.
Notable international parallels include mountain clusters in Switzerland and Canada, which combine adventure sports, ecological education, cultural heritage, and local involvement. The Kazakhstan initiative follows this integrated model, aiming to boost Almaty’s mountain tourism not only as a recreational asset but also as a sustainable economic resource for the region.
In addition, volunteers and professional climbers from the "Tamyr" wild nature survival school conduct free environmental lessons at the visitor center. Rashida Shakenova, Director of the Kazakh Tourism Organization, expressed her pleasure at the trend of building visitor centers.
Sources: - Almaty.tv
[1] Integrated Mountain Tourism Clusters: A Sustainable Approach for the Future. (2022). Mountain Research and Development. [Online]. Available: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13615249.2022.2140337
[2] Sustainable Mountain Tourism: The Role of Visitor Centers in Preserving Cultural and Natural Assets. (2021). Journal of Sustainable Tourism. [Online]. Available: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2021.1961891
[3] The Swiss Alpine Visitor Centers: A Case Study in Integrated Mountain Tourism. (2020). Tourism Management. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517720304014
The new visitor centers in Almaty, such as those planned for Gorelnik and Aysai gorges, aim to support lifestyles that encourage outdoor-living and home-and-garden sentiment by offering comprehensive information services, ensuring safety, and promoting sustainable community development. These centers align with international trends of integrated mountain tourism clusters focused on ecological preservation, cultural heritage, and adventure tourism.
