Determinants of the Development of Gastrotourism in the North Kazakhstan Region

Abstract

In the context of current trends in the development of the service sector in the world and Kazakhstan, the article examines the potential for the development of the region's service sector through the diversification of gastronomic offerings. The object of the study is the North Kazakhstan region, a typical agricultural region of Kazakhstan with a maximum share of agriculture in the country (45 %) and a minimum share of a tourist product (0.8 %), the subject of the study is its gastronomic potential. The need to develop the non-manufacturing sector is explained by the fact that the region has become the country’s anti-leader in terms of income, population decline, falling standards and quality of life in rural areas. Meanwhile, a powerful agricultural base combined with a multinational population and a rich cultural and historical heritage have formed a significant potential for an important component of the tertiary sector of the economy – gastronomic tourism. The study uses desk research methods (including a group of methods: historical and genetic ones, methods of content analysis, statistical analysis and observations), and the cartographic method. The key factors of gastronomic tourism development in the North Kazakhstan region have been identified: the agricultural specialization of the region, the preservation of ethnic culinary heritage, the formation of event activity and measures of state support for tourism. The authors have developed specific proposals for the development of gastronomic tourism and created a map of its promising centers.