Postcard from Bishkek

At the Travel Forum, over the weekend, there was an interesting moment.  One of the speakers proposed that Central Asia in general and  Kyrgyzstan in particular could, would or should benefit from adopting a new form of marketing, which he called Thematic Tourism.

The audience seemed to like this idea, but I am afraid that I seemed to upset everybody by disagreeing with him …

Now, let me be clear about this: I am not opposed to the idea of  Thematic Tours, as such.  Indeed, there is nothing new in the idea.  One could argue, for example, that Silk Road Tours are a classic example of a “thematic tour”.  So could a Pilgrimage - perhaps the original “thematic tour”.

As it happens, Kyrgyzstan offers a Kaleidoscope of such niche markets, (landscapes, natural environments, wildlife, history, peoples, culture, traditions and the opportunity to experience much, much more).  Basically, “there is something for everyone, whatever their interest”. There are a whole host of “niche markets” which could be explored and developed, (and for each there is probably someone who would claim it “should be” the focus of attention when it comes to a strategy for the development of a tourism in the country).

• Recreational Tourism – sometimes referred to as Beach Tourism – based on Lake Issyk Kul and drawing tourists mainly from neighbouring Kazakhstan, Russia as well as local Kyrgyz citizens;
• Adventure Tourism, involving trekking, horse riding, mountaineering, rafting, skiing, snowboarding … and so on – attracting tourists from all round the world;
• Travels along the Silk Road – attracting mainly tourists from the West;
• What is sometimes referred to as “Cultural Tourism” – with an emphasis on the traditional nomadic culture and lifestyle of the Kyrgyz, yurtstays and homestays – attracting mainly tourists from the West.
• Wildlife Tours – such as Photo Safaris, Ornithological, Butterfly and Botanical Tours, (Not forgetting: “Hunting and Fishing”)
• Medical tourism – for example, drawing on the sanatoria around the country, (for the record: a British newspaper recently reported that “up to 23,000 Britons went abroad for dental treatment last year, a figure that has almost quadrupled in a decade,”  and that is just dental treatment).
• Business Tourism – Meetings and Conferences

and so on …  (Soviet Kyrgyzstan, Sacred Places, ) … and so on …

Indeed, many tour operators in Kyrgyzstan already offer a wide variety of itineraries or tour products that can be described as thematic or niche tours: special tours attached to festivals or events, (the CBT, At Chabysh or Oimo festivals, for example)itineraries that concentrate on wildlife (and I don’t mean hunting); botanical tours; insects and butterflies; aspects of the traditional nomadic lifestyle such as music and crafts and music.  We already, for example, have a cuisine tour, where people can not only taste examples of different cuisines but also participate in the preparation of the meals.

 

So, why was my reaction so “negative”.

In support of his argument the speaker quoted some specific examples:

• Stratford upon Avon – which sees something like three million every year … all drawn to this small English town by the legacy of  one man, the playwright William Shakespeare
• Nukus in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan – home of the Savitsky Museum, home to one of the world’s largest collections of Soviet Avant Garde Art, which in the last ten years has emerged from obscurity to become attraction, visited by thousands of tourists each year, despite it’s remote location.

Now, part of my problem with this approach is that, it seems to me, with all due respect, we don’t have an author that has such a global reputation as William Shakespeare to draw upon, nor do we have a museum collection to match that of the Savitsky Museum.

The speaker did suggest that we have the likes of Chingiz Aitmatov, and that perhaps we could/should organize a festival, marketing campaign and specialized tour itineraries based on him, his life and his works.

It is true that the Kyrgyz value him very highly, that his works have been translated into different languages … BUT, even if he has a certain following in places like France and Germany, no-one can claim that he is a “household name” anywhere but here in Kyrgyzstan.  Virtually everyone here seems to have heard of William Shakespeare but very few people in the West, except those who have a specific interest in this region, seem to  have heard of Chingiz Aitmatov.  Before I came here to Kyrgyzstan, I had never heard of him, and it was only after I had already been here for some time that I first came across his name.  Having done so, on one of my trips back to London, I went in search of his books.  After drawing a blank in several bookshops, (even though he was supposed to have several titles translated into English), eventually one shop assistant decided to be helpful and went looking in various catalogues such as “Books in Print” … and could find only one title – which was was helpfully marked as OOP – Out of Print.  Eventually I managed to track down one title published in the States, A Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years, and I had to order it on line.  Some after I got back to Kyrgyzstan, some volumes were published here in English, by a Moscow based publishing house, and that’s how I managed to get hold of some titles and now I can say that I quite enjoy reading his works.

I happen to think that a Chingiz Aitmatov festival sounds like a good idea … with photo exhibitions, performances of his plays, screenings of his films, readings of his books, visits to Sheker, (his home village in the Talas oblast), and other places associated with his and his works.  In fact there already are a number of companies who actually do offer “Aitmatov Tours” – and, although we are not one of them, if we thought that there was an interest in such a tour we would certainly be interested in developing and promoting an itinerary.  The fact that we don’t have such a tour is simply down to the fact that we don’t see the potential demand.  Don’t misunderstand me … there is interest in such a tour and that’s why some firms offer it as an option … but, the demand that already exists is already catered for and there is little sign that it would be increased – even with aggressive marketing.

I am certain that if tour companies thought there was a potential market they would be eager to explore it.  They are businesses, after all; always looking to see if they can expand their businesses – especially into new potential markets.  Some of these “new markets” might well be ripe for the development of Thematic Tours.

 

The development of niche markets is to be welcomed, but each niche is something that has to be developed by specific groups and is not something on which a country can rely as the basis for developing its tourism industry.

Although this might be considered to be an advantage, it is also a handicap in that it is fragmentary; dividing our resources, (time, money energy), into a variety of directions, each one of which is small and targeted – that is why they are called niche markets.

The aim of a strategy for the development of tourism, and any marketing plan based on it, should be twofold: protecting existing markets and promoting the development of new ones.   Much of the debate in Kyrgyzstan on this topic at the moment, revolves around the need to develop an image or brand.  We have had several attempts at doing this in the past – some more successful than others – but it is now accepted that we need to do something positive to raise awareness in the country in order to attract visitors and counteract the negative press that we have generated in recent years.  A “competition” has been announced to develop such a brand …

The brand or image for the country should be natural, endemic, general and try to encapsulate the country as a whole so that it can be used in a number of contexts … whereas as adopting a niche image works only for that specific niche.

 

 

Tags: Marketing, Tourism