The Institute of Health and Tourism Management has been welcoming an increasing number of students from Kazakhstan for several years now. This development aroused my interest, and I wanted to find out more about the students’ origins and the tourism perspective of the students’ country.
Choosing the destination – Why Kazakhstan?
For me, Kazakhstan was a country without a clear point of reference – I had no image of it in my head, nor did I have any experience of the region, the country, the people, the language or the culture. This was precisely the incentive for her to fill this gap.
Preparing for staff mobility
Preparation for the trip began with discussions. The direct exchange with Kazakh students at my own institute provided valuable initial insights into the country and its culture. I also found out about Kazakhstan’s tourism development on the internet. Another important step was the exchange with colleagues from the partner university, namely the tourism department, the international office and the R&D department. Firstly, to be able to plan the trip better, but also to clarify dates so that we could meet on site. As part of the internal planning, I also found out that our head of institute, Eva Adamer-König, had already been to Kazakhstan as part of the Austromir 91 project – an interesting connection between FH JOANNEUM and Kazakhstan
Insights and learnings from Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan surprised me in every respect. Tourism is still in its infancy, and there is great motivation to promote it in a wide variety of areas. The city was green, clean, friendly and digitalized. The image was continued at the university; even before you enter the university, there is a “Service Center” that provides students with help and advice. The lecture halls & seminar rooms are green, the international team welcomed us with hospitality, and both the tourism department and the R&D office welcomed us – as agreed. A special highlight was on the very first day, when the former incoming students gave me a warm welcome and invited us on a city tour, and in the evening to a Kazakh restaurant for dinner.
