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

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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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Asyma Koshim & Aigul Sergeyeva & Yerkin Kakimzhanov & Aliya Aktymbayeva & Mereke Sakypbek & Akmaral Sapiyeva, 2023. "Sustainable Development of Ecotourism in “Altynemel” National Park, Kazakhstan: Assessment through the Perception of Residents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8496-:d:1154130
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jing Xia & Kun Sun & Qing Li & Bing Hou & Peng Yu, 2024. "An Integrated Model to Prospectively Assess the Environmental Impact of Tourism: Empirical Application to the Earth’s Third Pole National Park," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Annarita Colasante & Idiano D'Adamo & Alfredo De Massis & Simone Italiano, 2024. "An exploratory study of stakeholder views on the sustainable development of mountain tourism," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 3722-3735, August.
    3. Aliya Aktymbayeva & Yeldar Nuruly & Alexandr Artemyev & Aida Kaliyeva & Akmaral Sapiyeva & Zhanna Assipova, 2023. "Balancing Nature and Visitors for Sustainable Development: Assessing the Tourism Carrying Capacities of Katon-Karagay National Park, Kazakhstan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-24, November.
    4. Huiyan Qin & Han Wang & Panwar Rajat, 2025. "Exploring the Perception Differences and Influencing Factors of Ecosystem Services Among Residents in Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Kuat Saparov & Miroslava Omirzakova & Aigul Yeginbayeva & Aigul Sergeyeva & Kairat Saginov & Gulnash Askarova, 2024. "Assessment for the Sustainable Development of Components of the Tourism and Recreational Potential of Rural Areas of the Aktobe Oblast of the Republic of Kazakhstan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-21, May.

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