PREPARATION OF SERVICE QUALITY IN KAZAKHSTAN: CASE STUDY OF EXPO-2017

Current study is based on the case study of Kazakhstan, Astana for EXPO 2017. The hotel industry in Astana, despite the presence of luxury hotels, is slightly inferior to the hospitality industry in many European cities in the metropolitan level. The upcoming major international event of EXPO 2017 will require the presence of a large and variety of accommodations. Astana now attracts a large number of business travelers who come here in order to solve business issues. According to Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Committee on Statistics the number of visitors in 2013 was 6, 8 million, but only 1% of visitors had a tourism purpose. After successful participation in EXPO-2008 in Saragossa where Kazakhstan took third place among 104 participating countries, the Bureau International des Expositions voted to select Astana, Kazakhstan as the host of Expo 2017. Based on the above, it can be expected that the EXPO 2017 will be one of the key events in the recent history of Kazakhstan, and the holding of this event will make a huge contribution to the image of the country, the economy and culture. Kazakhstan’s economic growth in recent years is closely aligned with tourism development and following a successful bid to host Expo 2017, its hospitality and tourism industry faces a new set of opportunities and challenges. Considering these impacts current case study will discuses the changes happened among accommodation providers in Astana in order to enhancing the quality of services for potential tourist in Expo2017.