Current Status and Expectations of Tourism In
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31.05.2021-06.06.2021 No 309 CURRENT STATUS AND EXPECTATIONS OF TOURISM IN KYRGYZSTAN Kyrgyzstan has the potential to be one of According to the World Tourism Organi- terms of nature and cultural tourism, can- the important tourism centers among zation, the number of tourists worldwide not be utilized at the desired level. In this Central Asian countries with its natural was 1.23 billion in 2016 and the income regard, the inclusion of Kazakhstan and beauties, historical and cultural richness. obtained from this reached 1.5 trillion Uzbekistan in the Silk Visa (akin to One of these opportunities is nature tour- dollars. In addition, 270 million people Schengen visa model), which is planned ism. Due to its mountainous terrain where work in the tourism sector worldwide. to be implemented throughout the region the Tian Shan Mountains cover 65% of According to the same report, between is expected to positively affect the tour- Kyrgyzstan’s land it is often referred as 1990 and 2017, the number of tourists ism sector of Kyrgyzstan. With its current the “Switzerland of Central Asia”. The worldwide increased by 576% in the Asia capacity, Kyrgyzstan has the opportunity Central Asian region is among the tour- and Pacific Ocean region. All the infor- to increase the tourist flow by 10%, ism routes that have not yet been explored mation given within this general frame- thereby generating income of more than enough with its many natural wonders work shows us that there is a global ex- 400 million dollars. It is estimated that the and historical richness. In this regard, the pansion in the tourism sector and Asian income from tourism can reach up to 1 fact that the United Nations (UN) World countries are also benefiting from this billion dollars thanks to the development Tourism Organization included Kyrgyz- growth potential to a great extent. Hosting of information technology and infrastruc- stan in the list of countries with the high- many international events in this regard in ture. est probability of increasing the number recent years also helps Kyrgyzstan to in- The number of tourists visiting Kyrgyz- of tourists in the next 10 years is a sign crease its recognition in tourism at the in- stan in 2010 was around 855 thousand. In that the country’s tourism potential is just ternational level. As one of them, it can be 2016, this number reached 2 million 930 being discovered. In this direction, the stated that the contribution of the World thousand. The data show that the number Kyrgyz government has included the Nomad Games is very important. At this of tourists visiting the country has in- tourism sector in various national devel- point, world-renowned media organiza- creased by more than 3.5 times. Accord- opment strategies in order to fully utilize tions such as Forbes, Global Spots 2013, ing to the 2017 report of the National Sta- the potential of the tourism sector. World Travel and Tourism Council, Geo- tistics Committee of the Republic of Kyr- Among these, the Sustainable Develop- gyzstan, the citizens of Kazakhstan ment Strategic Plan of the Kyrgyz Repub- graphical Travel Awards, National Geo- (55.4%) visited the country the most. Ka- lic 2013-2017 and National Development graphic Traveler, National Geographic, zakhstan is followed by tourists from Uz- Strategy 2018-2040 can be shown. Financial Times, The Guardian paid spe- bekistan (14.5%), Russia (14.2%), Tajik- According to the Kyrgyzstan National cial attention to the World Nomad istan (7.5%), Turkey (1.6%), People’s Statistics Committee, as of 2014, there are Games. Moreover, Kyrgyzstan is among Republic of China (1.2%) and India 88.6 thousand (private and legal persons) the top 10 countries in the world recom- (0.6%). In this context, it can be stated businesses operating in the tourism sector mended for visiting in 2019 by The that the policies to be carried out both for of Kyrgyzstan. Issyk Kul is one of the Guardian and Lonely Planet. the neighboring countries where the most most popular and main tourism routes of When we examine the structure of the visitors come and for the citizens of for- the country. The Issyk Kul Region is de- tourism sector in Kyrgyzstan, we can see eign countries with which the country has fined as the “Pearl of Kyrgyzstan” and that there are businesses that serve in good relations will contribute to the de- takes its name from Issyk Kul, the world’s many different capacities. At this point, velopment of the tourism potential of the second largest crater lake in the region. Is- the different price practices of the enter- country in a short time. prises show us that there is no general As a result, Kyrgyzstan is a country with syk Kul is the most famous and most vis- a high potential to be one of the frequent ited touristic region of the country, offer- price policy in the sector. In this regard, dealing with the issue with a more institu- destinations of foreign tourists with its ing opportunities for local and foreign rich cultural assets and yet undiscovered tourists to relax and have a good time dur- tional understanding of the relevant insti- tutions will contribute to both the devel- natural beauties. However, in addition to ing the summer season. The Tourism De- the infrastructure problems, the lack of partment of the Minister of Culture, Infor- opment of competition conditions and the qualified workforce, inadequacies in the mation, Sports and Youth Policy of the improvement of the services offered to fields of promotion, advertising and mar- Kyrgyz Republic announced that the tourists. This will have positive effects on keting do not yet allow to achieve the ex- number of tourists visiting Kyrgyzstan in the increase in the number of tourists pected results from the tourism sector. 2018 was 1.4 million, among which more coming to the country. Considering the problems faced by the than 900 thousand tourists vacationed in All these developments have contributed tourism sector in Kyrgyzstan, determin- Issyk Kul. In the same year, tourism rev- to the positive image of Kyrgyzstan, ing it as one of the priority sectors among enues amounted to 27 billion som ($319.3 which defines itself as a touristic country the investment and development plans in million) and constituted 5% of the Gross in Central Asia. This promising potential the country is among the promising devel- Domestic Product. in the Central Asian states, especially in opments for the future of the sector. Written by Erkinbek Turgunov, Eurasian Research Institute, Kazakhstan Politics, Foreign Affairs, and Security Economy, Finance, and Energy Society and Culture The Chairperson of the Kazakh Senate Mau- The Kazakh Minister of Energy Nurlan The Jochi Khan historical and cultural center len Ashimbayev recently visited Uzbekistan, Nogayev attended a meeting of the country’s will open under the Ministry of Education where he had a meeting with Uzbek President and Science of Kazakhstan. The center is Parliament, where he announced that Ka- meant to become a scientific center for stud- Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The parties discussed zakhstan planned to increase the volume of the development and deepening of multifac- ying the era of the Golden Horde serves as a petrochemical production up to two million tourist destination. The center has an area of eted cooperation between the two countries. tons by 2025. During the reported period, the 2,500 square meters and will include an exhi- They mentioned the importance of coopera- bition hall, hotel, tents for exhibitions and tion in mechanical engineering, textile indus- exports of the sector will increase eight times. It is expected that Kazakhstan will launch shops carrying national products and jewelry. try, transport and tourism. It was noted that in The opening of the center was first an- 2021 the trade turnover between the two five plants worth $4.7 billion and begin the construction of seven plants worth $12.7 bil- nounced at the “Ulug Ulus of the Golden countries increased by 40% (UzReport, Horde: Origins, History and Heritage” Inter- 05.06.2021). lion. The Ministry plans to attract $9.1 billion national Practical Conference held in Nur- The President of Tajikistan Emomali Rah- of investments during 2021-2025 (Qazaq TV, Sultan on May 31, 2021 (Astanatimes, mon visited Pakistan, where he had a meeting 03.06.2021). 02.06.2021). with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan. Within the framework of the St. Petersburg The capital of Tatarstan Kazan is hosting the The parties discussed issues of comprehen- International Economic Forum, full-fledged XV International Theater Festival of Turkic sive cooperation, including political, eco- free trade agreements of the Eurasian Eco- Peoples "Nauruz". Over the course of the fes- nomic, trade, investment, energy and security nomic Union (EAEU) with Iran and India tival, 28 theaters from Kazakhstan, Uzbeki- ties. During the visit, parties sign a number of were negotiated. In 2020, bilateral trade be- stan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan agreements and memoranda of understand- and the national republics of Russia will pre- tween the EAEU members and Iran increased sent their works at six theater venues in Ka- ing. Emomali Rahmon also had a meeting by 18.5% and reached $3 billion. In the first with his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi. Rah- zan. The event is organized by the Ministry quarter of 2021, the EAEU’s exports to Iran of Culture of the Republic and will take place mon’s current visit aims to reinforce the ef- surged by 43.5%. Experts also paid special until the 11 of June 2021. The festival will be forts of both sides to forge a multi-dimen- attention to the development of the Interna- broadcast online on the theater's website sional relationship (Asia-Plus, 02.06.2021).