Archive: July, 2008
“Will the tourism industry in the Kyrgyz Republic succeed like the legendary phoenix in rising from the ashes?“ Part of my job is to anticipate problems … and then find solutions to them. Sometimes those problems never actually materialize and it seems as if I have wasted so much nervous energy worrying about nothing. But sometimes …
The Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO) is the largest organization representing Tour Operators in Kyrgyzstan. It was formally established in 1997, having operated on an informal basis since 1993. (The Celestial Mountains Tour Company was on of the “initiators” when the Association officially registered its charter.)
In my role as President of the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators, I was asked to address a “Round Table” called to discuss the Bologna Declaration, its implications and its importance in the sphere of Tourism.
The International Business Council was established as a non-profit organization in December 2000. It grew out of an initiative of the German Embassy in Kyrgyzstan – and began as an “informal club” where businessmen, investors in the Kyrgyz economy, could meet and discuss issues of common interest.
The International Business Council (IBC) publishes a quarterly journal – “Investment Now”. After the initial issue, each one has taken a theme for the majority of its articles: Banking, Mining, Communications, Energy, Tourism, Agrobusiness and so on. It may come as a surprise that in 2006, Education was chosen as a theme. After all, Education is not usually [...]
Mobile phones are very popular in Kyrgyzstan and the area covered by the main service providers is constantly being expanded. Mobile phone services account for almost half of the market and is the most rapidly growing sector in the industry, the number of subscribers almost doubling every year since 2002 and reaching 1.8 million subscribers [...]
Sometime ago a newspaper article in one of the main government run newspapers carried the headline: “When was the last time you paid a bribe? … or took one?”
“Houston, we have a problem …”, that is how the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 reported the incident, in 1970, when an explosion on board ruptured an oxygen tank … and led to the abandonment of the mission which was to have included the third lunar landing. “We have a problem …” is a phrase that [...]
The other day I was talking to some colleagues about the provision of tour services in the Kyrgyz Republic for the disabled. In particular, we were discussing wheelchair access. The situation in Kyrgyzstan is not very good … it is not exactly “wheelchair friendly”. Many buildings have built into their facades steps … and ramps [...]
Being a tour operator, I am apparently supposed to know the country like the back of my hand. Unfortunately, that is not exactly true. I have been to quite a few places around Kyrgyzstan, but there are still vast stretches of the country I have yet to visit. I have various plans for trips – [...]
