Safety – top priority for tourists
The events in Bishkek on April 7th were dramatic and tragic. Over eighty people died in protests against the existing government which basically fell from office and were replaced by an interim government headed by former Foreign Minister Roza Atunbaeva. The President left the city to emerge later in his home village not far from the Southern city of Djalal Abad.
The situation was widely reported in the media all around the world. Scenes of crowd disturbances, man toting guns, death and destruction were seen on television screens and Newspaper front pages from London to Sydney and from Moscow to New York.
Many people, family, friends, business partners with whom we work and clients, both former clients and people who are planning trips later this year, wrote to express their sorrow and concern about the way that things were turning out.
Here in Bishkek, we not only had to cope with the situation as events unfolded, we also had get on with our everyday lives and plan for the future as best we could. For those in the tour industry this was not an easy task. We already had experience, unfortunately, to help guide us in preparing ourselves for what was likely to be a difficult year, thanks to the events five years ago which led to the fall of another President and another government. Fortunately, on that occasion few people were killed, and those deaths that did occur were not the result of “revolutionary” fervour but of the civil unrest, rioting and looting that followed the storming of the White House, the seat of government.
On that occasion there was a lot of frantic activity undertaken to help preserve the summer tourist season. Tourism is an important part of the Kyrgyz economy. It may account for something like just 4% of the economy, but for many people who work in the industry it is their main, if not only source of income.
As it happens, although there were tourists who cancelled their planned trips in 2005, there were equally many who did not, who waited to see how the situation would develop and when it was clear that things were settling down, they came … and, basically, their experiences did not lead them to regret their decision. They were greeted with traditional Central Asian hospitality and there were few, if any, major incidents involving tourists whether from Kazakhstan, Russia or Uzbekistan, from Britain, France, Germany or the United States.
So, five years later, we faced a similar situation, but one in which the world had changed … a global financial crisis had already eaten into the volume of tourists traveling abroad for their holidays … and the question arose, “What can we do to help to protect tourism in 2010?”
It’s not just our own livelihoods that we are seeking to protect. Of course, we want to protect our businesses, that goes without question, but just as the failure of a harvest will have effects that reach far beyond the farmers whose crops did not materialize, so the failure of the tourist season will have repercussions which will reach far beyond the tour operators and hotels who lose customers.
To be honest, I am not sure there is much that we can do that will have that much effect … the damage has already been done … but, of course, we have to see what we can do in terms of damage limitation.
One of the things we can do and to try and persuade people planning to visit Kyrgyzstan not to cancel their trip. We can also try to reach new audiences, especially if we now have a wider audience who have at last heard of Kyrgyzstan.
Another thing we can try to do is make sure that their visit is enjoyable and memorable, (memorable, that is, for all the right reasons). We can try to make it easier to get to the country, offer additional value and additional services.
What we can’t do at the moment is make any promises or give any guarantees about safety and security. To those tourists who ask if we can guarantee their safety then we have to answer honestly, no … indeed, we couldn’t do so even in other years when there hadn’t been a revolution … and neither could any other destination. Who can tell what will happen. We’ve had tourist staying in our hotels who have been attacked on the streets at night.
One promise we can give, however, is that we will do our best to protect our clients … for example, to cancel tours in the event that the situation deteriorates and is considered too dangerous for tourists to visit. Let’s be honest, it is NOT in our interest to bring people into an unsafe environment. The amount of money we earn would be far outweighed by those and the goodwill that we could lose as a result of acting irresponsibly.
The members of KATO, (The Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators), met one week after the events erupted on the streets of Bishkek to discuss the situation and plan what to do next. As is usual at the Association’s meetings, there was much heated discussion. Everyone has a view and wants to express it. Sometimes, someone feels very strongly that another person’s suggestions or comments are not helpful, or just plain wrong. It can lead to interesting and exciting meetings, or it can descend into chaos.
On this occasion we decide to hold a press conference … to address different audiences and raise several issues that need to be considered:
- the government and people of Kyrgyzstan – to stress the importance of tourism to the country and the effect of recent events on the tourist industry – and hence, indirectly, on the country as a whole; to stress that there were things that could be done to try and limit the damage which had already been done, and why it was important to do so …
- to clients and potential clients, both in the traditional market, (Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan – which provide clients for the resorts on Lake Issyk Kul), and further afield. To stress the in the light of the experience gained in 2005, that it might pay off to “wait and see” how the situation developed before taking an irreversible decision to cancel travel plans.
I was asked to speak at that press conference, and here is the presentation that I prepared for it:
Because I am a foreigner, British, I have been asked to talk about the situation regarding “Western” visitors to Kyrgyzstan … often referred to here as visitors from the “far abroad”, and about the potential results of this year’s tourist season which is due to start in earnest in the very near future.
Every year I am asked what my prognosis is for the coming season. I usually something like: “Ask me at the end of the season, “how was it?” and I will tell you, but don’t ask me at the beginning because nobody can really tell what might happen.” All anyone can tell really say is how many enquiries and provisional bookings they have received. I can tell you that this year we have received fewer enquiries and provisional bookings than in previous years.
But, that was last true this time last year as well, and in the end, the season wasn’t so bad. There was a slow start as people started planning their holidays later than usual. There were fewer cancellations. In the end, the season was not excellent, but wasn’t a big disappointment.
So what about this year? Will this year see a repeat of what happened last year? Will there be signs of a trend, year on year?
That’s hard to say.
I can say that people cancel their travel for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes their personal circumstances make it necessary, like the tourist whose mother died just before they left home to start their visit to Kyrgyzstan.
Sometimes, however, it is because events occur in the place they are visiting that make them think twice about traveling there. Maybe, even, their own governments advise them against visiting the country. What sort of thing makes them think twice? Usually there is just one reason: Personal Safety.
It doesn’t matter if that relates to a health scare like SARS in 2003, Bird Flu in 2005, or Swine Flu in 2009; or to the start of a war or to a series of political disturbances. They all have an effect on international travel. If the tourist feels that they won’t be safe, then they will cancel their plans and make alternative plans. They have plenty of choices. As we say in English, they have the world at their feet.
Last time we had a Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, in March 2005, we saw tours that were planned for April and May cancelled, but many of those who were planning to travel later in the year decided to wait before they made a decision. As time passed, even though there were some difficult times, it was clear that the situation was stabilizing and there was little, if any, threat to foreign tourists. So they decided to come.
The government of the day took also measures to try and help encourage tourists not to cancel their planned trips, or to actually consider Kyrgyzstan as a destination if they hadn’t already made their plans.
If you asked me for my prognosis of the season to come in the last week of March 2005, then it would have been very demoralizing. In fact, however, by the end of the season, we knew that it had not as bad as we feared.
The same thing could happen this year, but only if it is clear that the situation in the country is stable, peaceful and without threat.
It is not just the foreign tourist that wants to feel safe – we all need to feel safe. The ordinary people of Kyrgyzstan need to feel safe and free from threat.
As it happens, just as in 2005, the country’s tour operators are receiving cancellations, but not everyone who has planned to come to Kyrgyzstan has cancelled yet, many are waiting to see how the situation will develop in the near future, and we are still receiving enquiries. These are from people know about Kyrgyzstan. About: the magnificent mountain scenery; the pristine natural environment; the historical associations with the Great Silk Road and characters like Genghis Khan, Tamerlane and Babur; the traditional nomadic culture, music, crafts, and hospitality of the Kyrgyz. They want to come here, but they want to be sure that they can do so easily and safely.
Is it possible to enter the country easily?, to travel around the country?, to go shopping, to the market, theatre or to restaurants? Is it safe to walk the streets without being attacked or robbed? Are they sure that there is no threat to their health?, that they won’t get ill? If the answer to these questions is “Yes”, then people will come. If it is “No”, or even “it’s not certain”, then they won’t and Kyrgyzstan’s loss, (the losses of all those who work in the industry: the tour operators, the hotels, resorts and homestay hosts, the guides, the drivers, the porters and cooks, the cafes and restaurants, the souvenir shops and craftswomen who make the souvenirs), will be someone else’s gain.
I think the answer is “Yes”, but now we have to convince them!
I hope that I was right, and that we can, indeed, persuade them … but only time will tell … on both counts.
Bishkek