ASTANA. October 5. KAZINFORM. Opening ceremony of the 18th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organizations (UNWTO) with the participation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has taken place at the Palace of Peace and Accord, Astana, today. "Today tourism accounts for 10% of world GDP and employs around 250 million people. The global income from tourism amounts to USD 4 trillion. So tourism is one of the world economic engines", N. Nazarbayev noted in his opening speech. According to the President, Kazakhstan pays much attention to tourism. "In this direction Kazakhstan's potential is rich and various. Our country located in the heart of Eurasia takes the ninth place in the world for its territory. Its territory exceeds that occupied by the countries of the European Union. It stretches 1800 km from north to south and 3000 km from west to east. We preserved the natural beauty of Kazakhstan", the Head of the State said. In 2008 the income from tourism amounted to KZT 74 billion in Kazakhstan.