Postcard from Bishkek

  Although holidays are usually thought to be for rest and relaxation - travel can be somewhat stressful. It is sometimes surprising how tiring a journey can be – even just sitting on a plane flying from A to B.  A journey is never a simple thing – there are the pressures of packing, (what to include, what […]

On the day that the Daily Mail ran a story about a possible new photo of the Loch Ness Monster … this one from space … I came across another interesting story about another “fabled” creature, Chon Maimyl – the big monkey. Although stories of the Loch Ness Monster date back to the sixth century, […]

A couple of weeks ago there was an interesting news report which said that an project established with the aim of helping the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan had identified the ten most popular sites in the Chui oblast here in Northern Kyrgyzstan. The results were based on requests for information that they had received […]

The subject of my Postcard today might seem odd, coming from someone involved in Tourism and eager to attract visitors to the country … but: I believe that it’s important to face reality and describe the situation “as is” – “warts and all” – rather than trying to gloss over things that seem unpleasant or […]

The other day I came across some new research … well, it was new to me, although the paper is dated April 2011. What attracted my attention in the first place was the “teaser”: “Living at a high altitude can protect you from certain diseases“, which was accompanied by a link to a short article with […]

They say that you only get one chance to make a good first impression – so work at it. First impressions can be misleading.  You need to think hard about how to present yourself and what message you want to get over.  Let me illustrate with a story: One of the most memorable day trips […]

About a year ago I got a frantic phone call from a friend of mine … a local, – that is, although he is not Kyrgyz, he was born and grew up here … asking me if I could tell him how to get to Kol Suu, (pronounced Kol Suu, but it is sometime written […]

To those of working in Tourism, today is an important day … it’s the International Day of the Guide. It’s not recognized as a Professional Holiday here in Kyrgyzstan, even though Tourism is considered to be a priority area for the Country Development Strategy.  Here the International Day of Tourism, (September 27th every year, as […]

Why is it that all of the good slogans have already been taken? In the 1954 Billy Wilder film, Audrey Hepburn plays the part of the chauffeur’s daughter … her father’s millionaire employer was played by Humphrey Bogart and his younger wayward brother by William Holden. The plot is a little convoluted but it’s supposed […]

Adventure tourism is big business these days … it’s evolved from a small niche market into one of the largest sectors of the industry with its specialist magazines, exhibitions and companies. It has seen rapid growth over the years and seems to be overtaking other forms of tourism in terms of the number of clients […]