Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor Tourism Master Plan In Central West Asia, the area between Almaty in Kazakhstan and Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Republic is home to exceptional heritage and a wealth of cultural and natural assets. The tourism potential is immense, but remains largely untapped. This tourism master plan provides a framework for developing the Almaty– Bishkek Economic Corridor (ABEC) into an international-quality destination. It identifies key investment priorities such as developing ski resorts along the mountain range between Almaty and Issyk-Kul and linking these winter sport facilities with summer tourism opportunities. It also proposes transport infrastructure improvements, including enhancing Almaty International Airport as the major gateway to the region. About Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor The Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor (ABEC) is the pilot economic corridor under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program. The motivation for ABEC is that Almaty and Bishkek can achieve far more together than either can achieve alone. The two cities are only 240 kilometers apart with relatively high economic density concentrated in services in the cities and agriculture in their hinterlands. Both Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic have acceded to the Eurasian Economic Union and the World Trade Organization. CAREC corridors and Belt and Road Initiative routes cross ABEC. The historic Silk Route, mountain ranges, and Lake lssyk-Kul underline the potential for tourism. But trade, especially in agricultural goods and services, between the two countries is below potential, and the region does not yet benefit from being one economic space. About the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is a partnership of 11 member countries and development partners working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. It is guided by the overarching vision of “Good Neighbors, Good Partners, and Good Prospects.” CAREC countries include: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, ALMATY–BISHKEK the People’s Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. ECONOMIC CORRIDOR About the Asian Development Bank ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, TOURISM MASTER PLAN while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members– 49 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. DECEMBER 2019 CAREC SECRETARIAT www.carecprogram.org ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines www.adb.org ALMATY–BISHKEK ECONOMIC CORRIDOR TOURISM MASTER PLAN DECEMBER 2019 Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2019 Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 8632 4444; Fax +63 2 8636 2444 www.adb.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2019. ISBN 978-92-9261-906-0 (print), 978-92-9261-907-7 (electronic) Publication Stock No. TCS190562-2 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS190562-2 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. 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This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributed to another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it. ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material. Please contact [email protected] if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wish to obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to use the ADB logo. Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda. Notes: In this publication, “$” refers to United States dollars. ADB recognizes “Kyrgyzstan” as the Kyrgyz Republic. On the cover: Tourism Facilities at Lake Issyk-Kul. A scenic view from Cholpon Ata in Kyrgyz Republic toward the Tian Shan mountain range (photo by Kenishi Hashimoto). Contents Tables, Figures, and Maps iv Acknowledgments v Abbreviations vi Executive Summary vii 1 Current Tourism Situation in the Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor Region 1 1.1 Tourism Assets, Infrastructure, and Accessibility 1 1.2 Tourism Flows and Markets 3 1.3 Digital Performance 9 2 Legal and Institutional Framework 10 2.1 Establishing the Legal Framework for Tourism Development 10 2.2 Institutional Framework 13 3 Spatial Conceptual Planning for Tourism Development 18 3.1 Rationale 18 3.2 Main Concepts of the Proposed Spatial Plan 18 3.3 Proposed Tourism Cluster Development 20 4 Investment Projects 22 4.1 List of Projects by Type and Priority 22 4.2 Rationale for Public–Private Partnerships and the Concept of Key Points of Interest 24 5 Master Plan Implementation 27 5.1 Master Plan Scenarios 27 5.2 Demand Forecasts 28 5.3 Implementation Process 29 5.4 Environmental and Social Safeguards 30 6 List of Supplementary Documents 31 iii Tables, Figures, and Maps Tables 1 Tourism Flows in the Countries and in ABEC 3 2 Ranking the Attractiveness of Foreign Inbound Tourism Markets for ABEC 8 3 Summary of Investments by Type, Component, and Priorities 22 Figures 1 Proposed Institutional Framework 15 2 10-Year Proposed Plan 24 3 Master Plan Scenarios 27 4 Demand Forecast Scenarios 28 Maps A ABEC Tourism Project Area and Regional Connectivity viii 1 Structure of Proposed Tourism Clusters in ABEC 19 2 Proposed Network of Clusters 20 iv Acknowledgments This report was prepared by specialists from JCF Strategy Consulting—with Carlos Faria as team leader—and 9steps Corporation—under the leadership of Kenichi Hashimoto—as well as Katelijne Lenaerts, Orynbassar Abeldinova, Dana Mirasheva, Uran Akhmetov, and Kuban Ashyrkulov. The Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor team of Kristian Rosbach, Carmela Espina, Kylychbek Djakypov, Almas Baitenov, and Aidana Berdybekova provided guidance and support during the preparation of this report. v Abbreviations ABEC Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor CIS Commonwealth of Independent States IRTD institution responsible for tourism development PPP public–private partnership PRC People’s Republic of China MCIT Ministry of Culture, Information, and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic MCS Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan TDPA Tourism Development and Promotion Agency VFR visiting friends and relatives vi Executive Summary The Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor (ABEC) has an exceptional heritage and a wealth of culture and nature. This combination results in a high potential for tourism development, which is largely untapped. The mountain range between Almaty and Lake Issyk-Kul has great capacity to attract international tourists. Developing this mountain region can spur connected winter sport investments such as ski resorts in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Linking winter sport facilities with summer tourism opportunities around Lake Issyk-Kul can reduce seasonality and investment risks by establishing attractive conditions for year-round tourism flows. This ABEC tourism master plan was developed to capture these benefits. This master plan aims to structure the development of an internationally competitive tourism region within ABEC. It describes the overall framework for the development and operation of the ABEC common tourism area, including (i) a vision and conceptual framework for the area, which optimizes the available resources (natural, human, technological, financial, and immaterial); (ii) ownership and organization of the common area; and (iii) development plan for land use and allocation of tourism activities as well as hard and soft infrastructure, considering social and environmental safeguards. Based on high-level demand projections and using various scenarios of project implementation, the master plan identifies the most important investment projects and estimated operating costs that will require prioritization and the necessary investments from both the public and private sectors. The master plan distinguishes between different types of investments that are reform-dependent or can be implemented within