What Will EAEU Tourism Look Like in the Age of AI?

On May 28, 2026, as part of the Eurasian Economic Forum, a session was held on the digital transformation of tourism in the EAEU countries. The key theme of the discussion was the formation of a new competitive model for the industry, in which the decisive factor is no longer just tourist attractions themselves, but the quality of the digital environment accompanying the journey.

The session was moderated by Yuliya Yakupbayeva, Partner at GPI Group and Chairperson of the Tourism Industry Committee of the “Atameken” National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. Opening the discussion, she noted that the industry’s main challenge today remains the unresolved conflict between the traditional and digital models of running a tourism business, which requires states to find a balance between technological development, business interests, and the expectations of the modern traveler. It was in this context that the further discussion was built around practical cases, national approaches, and the future of digital integration of the tourism industry within the EAEU.

Continuing the theme of the need for systemic change and interstate cooperation, welcoming remarks were delivered by Lusine Vacheevna, Deputy Director of the Entrepreneurial Activity Development Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission, and Yernar Bakenov, Director of the Entrepreneurial Activity Development Department of the Committee.

Developing the topic of industry digitalization at a practical level, Nurlan Mukatayev, Director of the Digital Transformation Department at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan, spoke about the development of digital infrastructure and the platformization of the tourism industry. The key thesis of his presentation was the need to form a unified digital space capable of combining services, data, and analytics to improve the quality of the tourist experience.

As a logical continuation of this topic, the role of data in the new digital tourism model was discussed. Kirill Masharsky, Director of the National Tourism Agency of the Republic of Belarus, noted the shift from traditional statistics toward industry management based on big data, real-time analytics, and AI solutions, emphasizing that data is becoming a new infrastructure for tourism.

Amid growing digitalization, special attention was paid to its impact on the market. Filipp Guly, Chairman of the Board of the Republican Union of the Tourism Industry of Belarus, addressed the interaction between local tourism businesses and global online aggregators and the need to establish balanced rules for operating in the digital environment.

As a practical continuation of the discussion on digital ecosystems, the experience of Kyrgyzstan was presented. Malika Moltoyeva, Deputy Director of the Tourism Department at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, presented the TUNDUK Travel project, aimed at uniting tourism services into a single digital environment for travelers.

Alexander Osaulenko, Vice President of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry, continued the theme of digital transformation and industry adaptation to new conditions, sharing his perspective on current changes in the tourism industry and its development amid growing digitalization.

Against the backdrop of discussions on technological change and new approaches to industry development, Ramón Pomes Hernández, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Cuba, offered an international perspective on the transformation of tourism. In his remarks, he noted that the tourism of the future is already an “engineering of experiences”, in which not only countries but also digital travel scenarios compete with one another.

Mekhak Apresyan, Chairman of the Armenian Tourism Federation, continued the theme of the practical application of digital tools, speaking about the approaches used in Armenia to regulate and develop the tourism industry.

The practical culmination of the discussion featured presentations by representatives of Kazakhstan’s tourism business. Inna Rey, Chairperson of the Association of Tour Operators of the Republic of Kazakhstan, addressed issues of building a safety ecosystem in tourism, while Igor Boyko, General Director of Freedom Travel, presented a case study of a travel ecosystem combining digital services, analytics, and tools for interacting with tourists. The cases presented rounded out the session’s overall agenda, demonstrating how the digital transformation of tourism in the EAEU countries is gradually forming a unified, interconnected, and user-oriented travel environment.