“Kairat” vs “Real”: average spending of tourists in Almaty

Tengrinews.kz – On September 30, one of the most anticipated matches of the year took place at Almaty’s Central Stadium — the Champions League group stage game between Kairat and Madrid’s Real. Tengrinews.kz asked the city’s tourism department how many tourists attended the event and what they spent.
According to the e-Qonaq information system, more than 5,000 foreign guests stayed in city hotels from September 26 to 29. Almaty currently has 377 accommodation facilities with a total of 12,552 rooms, capable of hosting around 22,800 people at once.

"Hotel occupancy during the match period reached approximately 95 percent," the department reported.

Some fans opted for hostels, apartments, or rented housing instead.

"Most tourists came from China, India, CIS countries, as well as Japan, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Czech Republic, and other nations," the department added.

Hotels did not raise room rates during the match.

"No price increases were recorded; city hotels maintained their existing tariffs," the tourism department noted.

The department described the economic effect of the match as “significant”.

"The average spending of a foreign tourist in Almaty is about $1,500 (approximately 813,000 tenge). Overall expenses include accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, and shopping, which positively impacts small and medium businesses and creates a multiplier effect for the city’s economy," officials said.

From January to August, tax contributions from the hospitality industry alone amounted to 58.5 billion tenge.
For reference, on September 30, Kairat played Real Madrid in Almaty, with the Kazakh club conceding five unanswered goals.