– How do you assess the potential of the republic’s tourism industry and which direction can be of particular interest to investors?
Askhat Akibaev: According to the World Tourism Organization, from 2014 to 2019 an increase in tourist flow was observed in Kyrgyzstan from 2.2 to 6.2 million people. Agree that for a small country with a developing economy, these are significant numbers.
Unfortunately, in 2020 a pandemic began, which negatively affected all businesses in the republic, including the tourism sector. After the borders were opened, the situation started to improve – last year we were able to achieve pre-pandemic results.
In 2023, we expect significantly more tourists to arrive in Kyrgyzstan. This was facilitated by the large-scale promotion of the republic’s tourism potential by the Kyrgyz Republic Tourism Support and Development Fund at all major world travel exhibitions. As a result, places have already been reserved for the whole summer in many rest homes, boarding houses, sanatoriums, including in the private sector. And not only in Issyk-Kul, but also in other regions of the country.
In mid-May, Cholpon-Ata hosted the ITF International Tourism Exhibition with a large number of local and foreign participants. It took place thanks to the systematic work of the Tourism Development Department of the Ministry of Economy and Trade of the Kyrgyz Republic and other government agencies. You can’t stop there, you have to keep going. For the development of the Kyrgyz Republic’s tourism industry, such tourism fairs should probably be held throughout the country.
– In one of our previous conversations, you mentioned a new sector in the tourism industry. Talk it over.
Askhat Akibaev: We are talking about the development of glamping in the country. I would call this type of tourism a complete immersion in the world of nature, spirituality and relaxation. Glamping is gaining popularity around the world. Recently, residents of large cities have complained of high levels of stress, environmental pollution and a huge flow of information. During the holidays, people increasingly prefer a meditative vacation alone with nature. That is why one of the trends of recent years in the world is the ecological glamping tourism.
Kyrgyzstan has amazing nature, and many people go to see mountain lakes, canyons and other amazing and fabulous places. But there are no good hotels near such unique places. Glamping helps solve this problem with its structures in the form of log cabins, capsules, domes, yurts, houses on the trees and on the water with the most open panoramic views. This is necessary so that a person can feel at all times part of nature. We already have similar objects.
– What trends of foreign investment in the tourism sector of the republic are observed today, which of the big brands are already interested in Kyrgyzstan?
Askhat Akibaev: There is definitely interest, but not as big as we would like. A well-known network of Turkish hotels, as well as several popular European hotels, have already entered the republic. True, so far they are concentrated only in large cities, but there are conditions for their future expansion. One of the main areas of our work is logistics. There are still issues here, but they are being resolved. We need to ensure access to roads – highways, rail and air links.
– The tourism industry has been declared one of the priorities of the country’s economy. Do you feel supported by the state?
Askhat Akibaev: The big pluses were the abolition of visas with more than 60 countries, the development of the Open Skies program, which we hope, and the tourism hub, the creation of the Kyrgyz Republic Tourism Support and Development Fund and other specialized structures, tourism forum sites.
The prospective development of winter, as well as sanatoriums and sports and recreational tourism, where foreign specialists are attracted to create projects for future ski resorts and other facilities, is now being considered.
– Can the World Nomad Games project be included in the list of the most interesting for investors?
Askhat Akibaev: The World Nomad Games have become a project thanks to which Kyrgyzstan is known all over the world. It is a true brand of event tourism. If you type the World Nomad Games into a search engine, the same Wikipedia will tell you that the birthplace of these competitions is Kyrgyzstan.
Now we are negotiating for the games to be held alternately once every two years abroad and in Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, during tourist fairs in recent years, the stand dedicated to nomadic games has been the most visited. We were only asked two questions: when will the games start and when will you start selling tours and tickets?
key question
– Do you have other projects like “World Nomad Games” which would become the same recognizable events in the world and bring even more popularity to Kyrgyzstan?
Askhat Akibaev | We have several other projects that are several times larger. “World Nomad Games” is a successful start for all our subsequent world-class initiatives, such as “World Ethno Games”, “International Sports Games of SCO and Silk Road countries”, “World Games Veterans”, “Ethnovision” and others, the details of which you will soon know.
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