In Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, Turkish tourism professionals are training Kazakh tourism professionals by providing distance learning, postings abroad and internship opportunities at the hotels they manage.
Turkish tourism professionals who run 4- or 5-star hotels operating in Astana are contributing to the development of tourism in the capital by providing hotel staff with distance learning and training abroad, and tourism school students with internship opportunities.
Sinan Udil, General Manager of a world-famous four-star hotel, stated in his remarks to the AA correspondent that he has worked in the hotel sector for many years, and said that the sector is developing rapidly in Kazakhstan, where the number of hotels is increasing.
Pointing out that the first foreigners to enter Kazakhstan’s hotel market were Turkish investors, Udil said: “While no foreign investor dared to open a hotel here, the Turks came around 1996. Because of their closeness to Kazakhstan, they invested without fear and opened the first 5-star hotel.”
– “We had difficulty finding staff”
Noting that the chain hotel he manages opened 4 years ago, Udil said: “When we opened, we had difficulty finding staff. Five or six foreign staff members used to work at the hotel in positions such as front office, food and beverage manager and head chef, because there were no local staff with enough experience to do these jobs.”
Explaining that by training employees over time they have reached the point of working with 100 percent local staff, Udil said: “In training local staff we have the strength given to us by our 90-year-old hotel brand. It has more than 4 thousand hotels in the world. We have distance learning programmes. We train our staff using these. We also send staff abroad for training.”
Saying that the staff they have trained have now started working at new hotels, Udil said: “We now rely entirely on local staff, we employ them, and we get the return on it. This lowers costs. When costs fall, we can sell rooms at a more affordable price.”
Udil noted that students who have studied at leading tourism schools abroad under state projects also work at his hotel, and that this too is a form of state support.
– “We will train local general managers to head the hotels”
Underlining that the number of highly educated tourism personnel in Kazakhstan is increasing, Udil gave this assessment: “I think that within 5-6 years local general managers will start to take charge of the existing hotels. We will soon begin training them too.”
Emphasising that to be successful in managing a hotel one needs to build a good relationship with the staff, Udil said the following:
“If these people work with love for their job and with loyalty, they lead us to success, because as general managers we cannot do anything on our own. That is why there needs to be a good relationship between us. We and the Kazakhs come from the same roots. That is why we are able to build that bond well. I do not feel like a foreigner. Nor do I make them feel that I am a foreigner. I show respect for the culture and traditions. They feel that. When that is the case, we are successful.”
– “It has become an employment opportunity for everyone”
Bahri Aktaş, General Manager of another hotel, noted that when he came to Astana 10 years ago there were 1-2 Turkish hotels in the city, and that they began operating as the third hotel in the city providing service to international standards.
Stating that they had difficulty finding trained staff at the time they opened the hotel, Aktaş said: “Among the local staff working at the hotel there were 2-3 people with hotel experience.”
Explaining that they reached an agreement with a technical college providing tourism education in Astana and enabled students to do internships at the hotel, Aktaş reported that they hired a significant portion of the interns and that those employees rose as far as front office and night manager positions.
Saying that thanks to the staff they have trained they have reached the hotel’s goals such as welcoming guests and fast service, Aktaş stated that young Kazakhs are open to developing themselves and learning the job.
Pointing out that in the past hotel work was not regarded as a profession in Kazakhstan, Aktaş said: “It was mostly students who thought of working at a hotel during school holidays, but now hotels have become an employment opportunity for everyone in the city. The hotel business has become an important sector. I think that we, as Turkish tourism professionals, have contributed to this.”
– “We train our employees one-on-one”
Tansel Tercan, General Manager of another five-star hotel in Astana, stated that they provide language training to those working at the hotel and said: “Businesses that do good work can grow by employing people who do good work.”
Saying that they are trying to show Turkish hospitality in Kazakhstan, Tercan said: “For this we train and educate our employees one-on-one. We try to provide service at the level of our hotels in Türkiye.”
Stating that Astana is developing as a business and tourism centre and that the hotels, whose number is steadily increasing, need trained staff, Tercan said that they will continue to contribute to the development of the country’s hotel sector. aa
Translated from the Turkish original.