Postcard from Bishkek

One of the oldest and best-selling data CD’s about Kyrgyzstan, (with photos, video, text, music, and maps), and the companion DVD, are both called: “Unknown Land Kyrgyzstan“.

The implication conveyed by the name “Unknown Land” is that people know little or nothing about the country … that few people know there is such a country and few visit.  In a way that is a fair comment, although the number of visitors tend to increase year on year, many people still know little or nothing about the place they are visiting unless they have a special interest (such as mountaineering or horseriding) or have done some research beforehand.  (For many visitors, Kyrgyzstan is not even their destination … they are simply following the Silk Road and one of the main routes takes them through the mountains on their way between the mysterious orient of China and the ancient trading cities of Uzbekistan and beyond.)

The title is a little misleading in that the country is far from “unknown” – people have lived here for thousands of years and travellers have traversed the region for centuries.  It is true, however, that many people in the West have little knowledge of this part of the world, it’s history and peoples (for example: when we attend exhibitions, people often walk past the stand, look up at the name-plate and ask: “Where is Kyrgyzstan?”), and even those living in the countries of the former Soviet Union sometimes know little about this corner of what used to be part of their own country.

Most people learn about their destination from advertising – which attract their attention, arouse interest, and, hopefully, elicit a positive response.  In marketing a country as a tourist destination, much use is made of slogans and logos, both of which can be powerful tools.  They are parts of a “brand” which, in theory at least, should embody various aspects of the country.  In addition to attracting attention, arousing interest and, hopefully, eliciting a positive response they also aim to aid recognition and facilitate identification.  In the histories of both tourism and marketing there have been many examples of successful branding.  In recent years, for example, the “Incredible India” campaign has resulted in a tourism boom for that country.

Creating a successful brand is not, however, an easy task: to sum up a whole country, it’s geography and wildlife, its history and culture, its tourism potential in terms of activities and attractions, in one short phrase or sentence, or a single iconic emblem, which catches attention and stimulates interest.   In the case of Kyrgyzstan, there have been several attempts to create a “brand” for the country, each emphasizing a different aspect of what the country and what it has to offer:

• Two slogans were used in the 1990′s:, each emphasising one aspect on the country’s tourism potential: ”The Land of the Tien Shan” - concentrating on the mountains which make up the vast majority of the country and “Oasis on the Silk Road“ - which highlighted the country’s place on the ancient trading route.  These were combined with a logo portraying a stylized Tunduk – the smoke-hole opening at the top of a yurt, which features as an emblem on Kyrgyzstan’s flag.
• In 2001, a new slogan was adopted: “Hospitable Kyrgyzstan“, drawing on the traditional hospitality which was a feature of the lifestyle and culture of the nomadic Kyrgyz.
• In 2006 a marketing company devised the slogan, ”Somewhere new, Somewhere Different“, (the Russian version translated as ”Somewhere that you haven’t yet been“) - which was aimed at appealing to travellers who want to try a novel and unusual destination.  A colourful logo was also devised which attempted to combine stylized images of the sun, mountains and lake Issyk Kul.
• At the same time the State Agency for Tourism adopted the slogan “Land of Tourism” and adopted the Aigul flower as a motif – the Aigul flower is a rare plant which grows only in remote regions and is found in the mountains of the Batken oblast, hence emphasising both uniqueness and natural beauty.
• Perhaps the strangest episode of the search for a “brand” for country came in December 2007, when some Swedish scholars announced that the ideal location for Santa Clause to start his annual journey distributing gifts to the children of the world was from a mountain in Southern Kyrgyzstan, (latitude: 40°40′, longitude: 74°24′).  The press coverage was extensive, and the response was to declare Kyrgyzstan as “The Home of Santa Clause“.
• “The Living Fairytale” appeared as the subtitle of a new “country brochure” in 2008 – drawing attention to the colourful legends of the Kyrgyz, many of which may be outlandish, but associated with both locations and traditions.

The diversity of these slogans a symptomatic of the diversity of what the country has to offer and the fact that, although there are many things which are typically Kyrgyz, there are few that are universally and uniquely recognizable as Kyrgyz.

At an exhibition dedicated to the Great Silk Road, one tour operator chose the following phrase to highlight the differences that tourists can experience between the two neighbouring countries of Uzbekistan  and Kyrgyzstan: “In Uzbekistan the main tourist sights are manmade, whereas in Kyrgyzstan they were made by  God”.   Whereas China represents the mysterious Orient at one end of the Great Silk Road, and Uzbekistan has some of the great cities and trading centers of the ancient world, the remote and undeveloped mountains of Kyrgyzstan offer the modern day traveler to feel, experience and imagine what life might have been like for those ancient peoples traveling “the authentic Silk Road“.

Oddly enough, perhaps some of the best potential slogans have come from visitors … as they describe the country from their point of view:

• Laid back and irresistible – An Australian tourist, and the similar:
  • Laid back hospitality – featured in a number of travel blogs
• Adjective-defeatingly incredible – http://alibirchtree.wordpress.com/
• Young and full of potential – http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jtroussier/1/1213034400.html
• The Best Yet! – a tourist on a tour along the Great Silk Road
• Beautiful (and woefully underated) Kyrgyzstan – http://jmoschner.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/photo-highlights-from-kyrgyzstan/

Tags: Expat, Kyrgyzstan, Marketing, Tourism