27 Oct 2014
Black caviar baths and dancing with seals experiences promoted to attract tourists to Kazakhstan resort
BY Helen Andrews
An upmarket resort planned for Kazakhstan on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea expects to offer baths of black caviar to its spa guests when the project opens in 2020.
Dubbed the “Kenderli” resort, the project’s plan was first conceived in 2012, according to Tengrinews.kz, which received information on the development from the Ministry for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan.
While Iranian investors have expressed interest in the project, the US$3.3bn (€2.6bn, £2bn) project has not attracted any significant funding yet, which could stall the development for a number of years.
Projected figures for the development suggest that by 2020 more than half a million tourists will be flocking to Kenderli every year, with foreigners making up over half of the estimated 642,000 visitors. Russia is considered to be the most promising market for the resort, however it will target holidaymakers from parts of central Asia and the former Soviet Union, plus visitors from Turkey in the Middle East. Other attractions at the resort will include ‘dancing with seals’, golf, hot air ballooning and boat dining experiences.
The Kenderli is expected to grow into a city once it opens, so that by 2030 it will accommodate 12,000 beds in three hotels and 28,000 beds spread throughout 1,000 villas, 1,950 townhouses and 150 bungalows, according to the development’s presentation.
The area needed for this project will be 1,700 hectares and it will be created and serviced by 14,000 employees.
The Kenderli resort is being given the status of a national tourist project, as part of the Kazakhstan’s aim to boost tourism. This year, Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, eased visa requirements for several countries in a pilot scheme that will be reviewed in July.
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