On April 29, AlmaU hosted the 10th Student Olympiad “24/7” for educational programs B091 “Tourism” and B093 “Restaurant and Hotel Business.” The theme of the anniversary Olympiad was “Kazakhstan Travel Experience: New Ideas for the Tourism and Hospitality Industry.”
The event was officially opened by AlmaU Vice-Rector for Academic Development Aryn Assel Arynkyzy. In her speech, she emphasized the importance of students’ active participation in professional and international initiatives, noting that modern specialists should promote themselves, develop their ideas, participate in competitions, and represent Kazakhstan’s potential globally.
The event brought together talented, proactive, and creative students from leading universities of Kazakhstan, who presented innovative projects aimed at developing the tourism and hospitality sectors of the country. The Olympiad was held offline at AlmaU and included startup project defenses, practical case analysis, and team presentations.
Participants presented projects focused on tourism digitalization, sustainable tourism development, implementation of AI technologies, creation of new hospitality formats, and improvement of customer service quality.
Special attention was paid to:
• the use of artificial intelligence in hospitality;
• development of eco and cultural tourism;
• creation of innovative travel routes;
• digital solutions for museums, hotels, and restaurants;
• new formats of gastronomic and experiential tourism.
Eight teams from different regions of Kazakhstan participated:
• Maqsut Narikbayev University (Astana) – Meken AI;
• Astana International University (Astana) – Silk Road Team;
• Toraighyrov University (Pavlodar) – Committee of Hotel Business (KGB);
• Abylai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages (Almaty) – Cheremsha;
• Esil University (Astana) – Esil Explorers;
• Almaty Technological University (Almaty) – BuildTeam;
• Narxoz University (Almaty) – Shygys;
• Almaty Management University – AlmaU team.
Each team demonstrated a high level of preparation, analytical thinking, and a practice-oriented approach to solving current challenges in tourism and hospitality.
Winners of the 10th Student Olympiad “24/7”
1st place – Meken AI (Maqsut Narikbayev University, Astana)
2nd place – Cheremsha (Abylai Khan University, Almaty)
3rd place – Committee of Hotel Business (KGB) (Toraighyrov University, Pavlodar) and Esil Explorers (Esil University, Astana)
The jury included representatives of Kazakhstan’s tourism and hospitality industry:
• Elena Sarkissyan – Head of Domestic Tourism Department at Robinson Tour Operator;
• Yerkin Tikenov – Member of the Public Council of Kazakh Tourism, Chairman of the Tourism Industry Council of Atameken NCE in Almaty, CEO & Founder of Incide Travel, OTA Group;
• Altynai Tynyshbekova – Guest Relations Specialist, Novotel Almaty City Center.
The jury highly praised the participants’ preparation level, relevance of the presented projects, and the practical significance of their solutions for the development of Kazakhstan’s tourism and hospitality industry.
The organizers expressed gratitude to all participants, academic supervisors, and teachers for their active involvement, professionalism, and contribution to the educational and scientific-practical environment.
The 10th Student Olympiad “24/7” once again confirmed the strong potential of Kazakhstan’s student community, the ability of young people to generate innovative ideas, and their commitment to developing the country’s tourism and hospitality industries in line with modern international standards.