ASSESSING THE EFFICIENCY OF TOURISM AND RECREATION SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN KAZAKHSTAN: A TYPE-ORIENTED APPROACH

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of tourism and recreational special economic zones in Kazakhstan through a type-oriented assessment approach. The study argues that conventional evaluation criteria, primarily based on investment volume, export performance and fiscal returns, do not fully reflect the specific nature of tourism-oriented special economic zones. Unlike industrial zones, tourism and recreational SEZs generate delayed, indirect and spatially distributed effects related to employment creation, small and medium-sized business development, urban infrastructure improvement, territorial capitalization and regional socio-economic diversification. The empirical analysis focuses on the special economic zones “TURAN”, “Turkistan” and “Alatau”, comparing their investment volume, number of residents and jobs created. The findings show that although “Alatau” demonstrates a higher level of investment, “TURAN” and “Turkistan” provide stronger employment intensity and greater involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results confirm the need to differentiate SEZ performance assessment according to their functional type. For tourism and recreational SEZs, priority should be given not only to capital investment indicators, but also to employment, entrepreneurial activity, infrastructure development and long-term regional multiplier effects. The proposed type-oriented approach may be used by public authorities and SEZ management companies to improve monitoring, strategic planning and institutional support for tourism and recreational zones in Kazakhstan