Sustainable Development of Ecotourism in “Altynemel” National Park, Kazakhstan: Assessment through the Perception of Residents

Asyma Koshim, Aigul Sergeyeva (), Yerkin Kakimzhanov, Aliya Aktymbayeva, Mereke Sakypbek and Akmaral Sapiyeva
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Asyma Koshim: Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Aigul Sergeyeva: Department of Geography and Tourism, K. Zhubanov Aktobe Regional University, Aktobe 030000, Kazakhstan
Yerkin Kakimzhanov: Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Aliya Aktymbayeva: Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Mereke Sakypbek: Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Akmaral Sapiyeva: Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Protected natural areas of Kazakhstan, particularly national parks, occupy a unique role in developing ecological tourism. One way to ensure biodiversity conservation, environmental preservation, and regional sustainability is through promoting ecotourism in national parks. For the “Altynemel” National Park, ecotourism should be regarded as a priority type of tourism. The article considers the essential technologies and principles of implementation of ecological tourism in the National Park “Altynemel”. Identified and justified the uniqueness of this protected area—the equal value of natural and cultural heritage on its territory. We revealed the problems and constraints of ecotourism development in the national park and offered the ways of their solution. The article is written based on field research materials, methods of a local population survey, interviews, and focus group discussions. In this article, 201 representative families were interviewed using questions on a 5-point Likert scale, including 159 residents of the village of Basshi and 42 residents of the village of Nurym. The results show that the overall assessment of sustainability is mild in the two communities. As a result, we claim that sustainable development in the “Altynemel” National Park is far from perfect. Sustainable development in the “Altynemel” National Park could be better. In particular, tourism development’s positive economic and political impact has yet to be apparent.

Keywords: ecotourism; sustainable development; “Altynemel” national park; village of Basshi; village of Nurym; sustainability indices; GIS-MCDA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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