Postcard from Bishkek

I received an email last weekend from the local television programme, “Open Kyrgyzstan“.  It’s a discussion programme which   tackles a variety of social, economic and politic topics and they have several times in the past considered questions about the development of Tourism in the Kyrgyz Republic.

As we approach the start of the tourist season, they are once again turning their attention to the development of tourism in the country.  They sent several people involved in tourism, (including me), a series of questions which they hope to cover in their analysis.  The answers will be posted on their website www.open.kg (in Russian).

Here are the questions they asked:

Here’s what I wrote in reply, (in English):

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Your questions seem to fall into two sections.  The first asks for statistical data concerning last year and the coming season:

Last year was not a good year for tourism in Kyrgyzstan … but you don’t need me to tell you that.  Everyone was talking about the lack of tourists, how few foreigners there were travelling the Silk Road, how many of the resorts on Lake Issyk Kul had empty places, and how the resorts had to reduce prices and rely on local visitors.

When you ask me about statistics, I have to say that you are asking the wrong person.  I can only tell you the results of our season, for example: how many tourists our company served.  I cannot tell you about the overall situation in the country, how much the local population earned, or other tour operators or the state budget.  I can tell you that our business declined to about 30% of what we would have normally seen during a season.

Many of those were people travelling the Great Silk Road, who basically have to transit through Kyrgyzstan between the ancient settlements of Uzbekistan and the mysterious orient – China.  Obviously very few of them chose to travel through Osh to Irkeshtam.  The majority came through Bishkek and Naryn to Torugart.  Some, unfortunately decided to by-pass Kyrgyzstan altogether and travelled via Kazakhstan to cross the border at Korgas … or chose to cancel/postpone their visit altogether.

Those tourists who had planned visits to Northern Kyrgyzstan, (for example, horse riding in the mountains of the Kyrgyz Range or Terskey Ala Too), decided to continue with their trips, and they had a very positive experience.

Turning to the prospects for this coming year, I have to say that when people ask me to make predictions about the forthcoming season I usually reply: “Ask me at the end of the season and I will tell you how it was.”  There are several problems with trying to predict the likely outcome of a tourist season, especially for a firm like our which works almost exclusively with clients from the West, the “Far Abroad”.

Most of those visitors have a long journey, which is usually very expensive.  They plan their journey well in advance. Those who were thinking of coming to Kyrgyzstan in the summer would have been planning their trip the previous year.  Usually, we start to receive enquiries during the previous year and many of the bookings we get are provisional.  They have to be confirmed, and depend on the number of applications for that particular tour.  Normally we don’t know if the tour will actually take place until about a month before it is supposed to start.  If our partners plan, say, six tour groups during the coming season, then we might end up with six groups, five, four, three, two or just one … or maybe, even, none at all.

It is true that there are tourists that appear during the season, but it is not the main part of our business and we never know how many of those we can expect.

What I can tell you is that we have received far fewer enquiries and prospective bookings for this year than ever before, (with the exception perhaps of our first year in business).  Some of those enquiries and prospective bookings will result in actual tours, but not necessarily all of them.

As a result, I think that this year will actually be worse than last year.

As I said, we work almost entirely with Western travelers, from the “Far Abroad”, and the situation may be different for those companies that work with more traditional markets, (Kazakhstan etc.), providing putovkas for the resorts on Issyk Kul.  However, I have some doubts about this.

You don’t ask about next year.  I understand that your focus is the prospects for the coming season, but I think you should also address this.

If, this year, there are no social and political upheavals, then I see no reason why next year should not see the start of a revival in the prospects for tourism.  The main attractions of Kyrgyzstan, (the mountains and spectacular landscape, the natural environment, the historical connections, the traditional nomadic lifestyle and culture of the Kyrgyz, and so on), remain.  There may well be, however, other issues to address that will provide challenges for us to overcome, such as the effects of climate change as a result of Global Warming, the escalating cost of fuel, and so on.

In my opinion, our most important task this year is to survive and develop so that we are in a healthy position so as to develop and grow next year and beyond.

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The second section asks about what can be done, what has been done and what should be done to facilitate the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan.

You suggest, for example, that many of the basic problems facing the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan, (and you mention some of them), have remained the same over the year.  It is hard to disagree with this … but, then again, it is not that surprising.

It is true, for example, that over the years there have been many meetings to discuss the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan and sometimes it does often seem that discussion always revolves around the same issues … and although there have been many suggestions about how to address and resolve the issues, little concrete actually gets done.

Of course, there are problems with implementing suggested improvements – especially the lack of financial resources.  There is also a considerable shortfall in the amount of finance available to implement policy.  That is understandable.  The country has trouble raising tax revenues to pay for essential services and pay pensions, so they have difficulty in allocating large sums to measures which may, (or, let’s face it, may not), be successful in bringing tourists to Kyrgyzstan, providing job opportunities and raising tax revenues.

Then again, the situation is not a simple one.  For example, not all the issues you mention concern tourism in isolation.

Let us take just one example, the conditions of Kyrgyzstan’s roads.  It has to be noted that there has indeed been some improvement in respect to these – especially on the main trunk roads through the country.  When I first came here almost 16 years ago, for example, I frequently heard talk about how difficult the journey to Osh was, but now the road is good, high quality, along its entire length.  Hopefully, the main road between Bishkek and Torugart through Naryn will be just as good now that it is under reconstruction, and later also the road from Osh to Irkeshtam.  There are still many roads that needs attention but, of course, major improvements such as the renovation of hundreds of kilometers of road surface are expensive and take a long time to complete.  They should, however, bring considerable benefits – and not just for the development of tourism – by improving access to and around the country.

So, some issues, (such as the provision and development of general infrastructure resources – such as the roads, the marketing Kyrgyzstan as a country – whether to attract investors or tourists, and the visa regime), are matters for the government to address, (within the constraints of available resources), whilst others, (for example, the provision of hotel facilities and entertainments), are questions for the private sector.  Government policy can probably best help the development of tourism by fostering an attractive and conducive environment for the attraction of investment and for the conduct of business, so that investors are not only willing but are eager to take up and develop opportunities.

In theory, the development of a concept for the development of tourism should be helpful.  It should, for example, help to focus attention on the sector and it could give an impetus and direction to the organs of State in implementing various specific measures, but I am not sure to what extent it will actually help in practice.

The reports on Tourism Development in Kyrgyzstan that I have seen are usually very good, well written and insightful, at least when it comes to describing the existing situation in the country: the historical context, the strengths, (attractions of the country and opportunities for development), as well as the weaknesses and threats facing the industry.  The problem with these reports, however, normally arises when considering the future direction the country should take.

There are conflicting ideas about exactly what form of tourism the country should try to develop.  It seems reasonable that we should try to preserve the existing markets, (for example Recreational Tourism based on the Resort Zone at Issyk Kul, Adventure Tourism – such as Mountaineering and Trekking, and Travel along the Great Silk Road), but also to develop new ones, (such as Winter Sports or developing the potential of the Chinese and Indian markets) … or at least provide the conditions that will allow entrepreneurs and investors to do so.

I do expect that that the review will lead to changes in legislation, indeed it seems almost inevitable.  Once again, however, I am not sure to what extent this will help, or is even necessary.  I am not convinced, for example, to what extent a separate law “On Tourism” is necessary.  Tourist companies are just examples of companies doing business.  There is already ample legislation concerning the conduct of business and the protection of consumer rights and so I am not sure that I see that there is anything Tourism that requires a separate law.

You ask, in particular, about possible changes to the Visa Regime and the possibility of introducing a Visa Free Regime for certain “developed” countries.  There has been much said and written on this topic over the years.  Let me just say that, it seems to me, Kyrgyzstan has a lot to gain in terms of attracting potential tourists by relaxing its visa regime.

One of the most important tourist resources for Kyrgyzstan is, of course, Lake Issyk Kul.  The majority of visitors to the country come to rest in the resorts on the shores of the lake.  It brings not only a mass of tourists, providing employment opportunities for the local population for the duration of the season but also it has a large potential in tax revenues for the state and local budgets.

Once again, however, there a question about what the state can do, and should do, to assist in the development of tourism and what should fall to the private sector.

A lot of work has been done to establish new facilities, and modern existing ones, on the shores of the lake.  Most of this has been achieved by the private sector, investors hoping to create a successful business and reap the rewards of their investment.  One step that the government could undertake to help the development of tourism in the region is to prioritize the development of the airport in order to make access to these facilities easier.

Ours is a service industry and relies on satisfying both the needs and the expectations of the client – providing the levels of service that the modern tourist has come to expect.  It is true that there has been much attention paid to trying to raise the level of professionalism of the people working in tourism, and this is probably as important, (if not more important), than the development of new facilities.  There is still more that could be done, for example simple improvements such as, instead of providing a set meal at set times, introducing some element of choice.

There is a limit, however, as to how many tourists the region can sustain without damaging the very thing that people come to enjoy.  Concentrating on this region in isolation can also mean that other regions of the country do not gain from the benefits that the development of tourism can bring, such as the increased employment opportunities.

It is important to remember, also, that the season in Issyk Kul is very short and that the resorts not only compete amongst themselves but also in the global market place against other resort areas such as Turkey and Thailand.  One of the most useful things that can be done would be to find a way to extend the season so that resorts and facilities do not stand idle for the best part of the year.  The development of ski resorts, for example, is a welcome development, as would be the development of training facilities for sportsmen, (which, incidentally, would help Kyrgyzstan sportsmen as much those from foreign countries.)

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Here’s the interview, (in Russian), as they posted it.

Tags: Articles, Interview, Tourism