Astana, April 18, the House of the Mazhilis. The Mazhilis Committee on Socio-Cultural Development, chaired by Askhat Aimagambetov, discussed topical issues of state regulation in the field of tourism, physical culture and sports. Minister of Tourism and Sports Yermek Marzhikpayev spoke about the work done and future plans.

The Minister noted that there is a growing interest in national sports in the country. The number of people systematically engaged in them increased from 584 thousand people in 2022 to 619 thousand people in 2023. Increasing the accessibility of sports facilities is under special state control.

– By the end of 2023, the provision of the population with sports infrastructure amounted to 52%. In order to determine the real need and audit the existing sports facilities, a large-scale inventory was carried out in all regions of the country. As a result, the presence of more than 7 thousand out of over 43 thousand objects was not confirmed. The Action Plan to eliminate the identified deficiencies for 2024-2026 has been approved. Within its framework, construction, reconstruction and repair work are planned at 414 facilities of the republic. The priority will be facilities located in rural settlements," Yermek Marzhikpayev informed.

The Minister also spoke about the preparation of national teams for participation in the XXXIII Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The national team of Kazakhstan plans to take part in 20 sports.

The next important event is the holding of the World Nomad Games in the capital, in which delegations from more than 100 countries with a total number of about 3 thousand people are expected to participate. However, the deputies expressed doubts about the quality of preparation for the games.

– I cannot purchase tickets for the games on the website you are talking about. You say one thing, but it turns out to be completely different. Perhaps it is better to say that tickets are not on sale now," Daulet Mukaev said.

The deputy also pointed out the insufficiently large-scale and understandable advertising campaign of the event. To which the Ministry's specialists explained that tickets are not being sold for all events yet, and promised to sort out the issue.

Another important area of activity of the Ministry of Sports is the tourism industry. According to official statistics, by the end of 2023, the number of domestic tourists amounted to 9.6 million people. However, the Majilismen expressed concern about the high prices for domestic flights to tourist destinations. According to the deputies, the availability of information about Kazakhstan for foreign tourists leaves much to be desired.

During the discussion, the members of the committee on Socio-cultural development also raised the issues of ensuring equal financing of sports and tourism, the development of artistic sports, an accessible environment for sports enthusiasts with special needs and Paralympians. The issues of support for domestic athletes, the fight against ludomania and others were also touched upon.

At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the committee focused on each issue raised and called on the participants of the discussion to cooperate in solving them.

– It is necessary to put an end to the issues of the Artsport project and the status of legionnaires. I think that we will come to a systematic solution on them within the framework of the future law. After that, it is necessary to determine which direction will be assigned the status of children's and youth sports schools. It is also necessary to assign children to appropriate groups depending on their age. As part of the bill to combat ludomania, there were proposals to regulate sweepstakes, they need to be considered in detail. Questions were also raised about the activities of the Sports Support Fund and the preparations for the World Nomad Games. I ask you to take all this into account and continue working in these areas," concluded Askhat Aimagambetov.

The press service of the Mazhilis - 24-38-22. Photo by T. Tanybaev