Almaty vs Astana

Almaty leads Astana by 15 points on the CIRA Index, 67 to 52. Almaty grades better on 7 measures, Astana on 2; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Almaty 67, Astana 52
• OECD: Almaty 66, Astana 57
• UN Tourism: Almaty 74, Astana 61
• UNDRR: Almaty 64, Astana 47

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Almaty 70, Astana 35
• Economy and jobs: Almaty 83, Astana 88
• Climate and hazards: Almaty 65, Astana 65
• Water and environment: Almaty 94, Astana 81
• Community and housing: Almaty 25, Astana 0
• Access and continuity: Almaty 58, Astana 50

Where Almaty is stronger

• Largest foreign market: 22.1 % of international arrivals or nights (Almaty Invest (citing Bureau of National Statistics / Almaty Tourism Department), Jan–Sep 2025). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4.
• Average length of stay: 3.2 nights per visitor (Mastercard Tourism Insights / Kursiv Media, 2025). Between 2.8 and 3.5: grade 3/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 68.2 % average annual occupancy (Cushman & Wakefield Kazakhstan (using STR data), 2023). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• Flood hazard: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Green space: 37.9 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Smart Sustainable Cities Profile: Almaty, 2023). Between 30 and 40: grade 3/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (DKnews.kz, 'Emergency Alert for Almaty Residents: What Happened This Morning?', 2024). Grade 3/4.

Where Astana is stronger

• Extreme heat days: 1.8 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Tropical nights: 3.6 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Kazakhstan: #56 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Kazakhstan: #56 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Almaty in full · Astana in full

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