An interview for BITF
It was planned in 2005 to hold the First “Bishkek International Tourism Fair“, (BITF), but following the events of March 24th, it was cancelled. The following year, however, it went ahead. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism made a really good effort to make the event a success, and a suitable showcase for the country as a tourism destination.
Amongst the various activities to mark the occasion, several newspapers and magazines published special editions or supplements. The AKIPress news agency, Kyrgyzstan’s biggest private news agency published a special edition of its analytical journal, in Russian and English. They asked me if I would give them an interview.
On these occasions I am never sure if which “hat” I am wearing:
- as a foreign private investor working in the sphere of tourism, the General Director of a Tour Company,
- as President of the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO),
- as a member of the board of the Destination Marketing Association, (DMA), or
- something else.
Anyway, I agreed, and one wet, rainy morning I made way to the offices of the agency and we sat talking for hours … and hours. They taped the interview and later sent me a copy of the interview for review. They had obviously selected only a few points … they had lots to chose from.
There are different opinions about the tourist season. Some say that the last year tourist season was not successful. What should we expect this year?
I think that, this year, the tourist sector is going to experience some difficulties. The events of March last year made Kyrgyzstan famous throughout the world. On the one hand it was good in that people around world now know that a country called Kyrgyzstan exists, but on the other hand the image that was acquired during those days was very negative. Last year a lot of people from western countries were planning to come to Kyrgyzstan, and many of them were almost ready to collect the necessary documents in preparation for their journey, but after the events of March 24th many of them cancelled their plans. Others, however, decided to wait and see what happened, how the situation was going to evolve, and when it was clear that the political situation in the country had stabilized they finally came.
After the events last year, the government realized that if they did not undertake measures then the tourist sector would suffer a lot. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the whole government and the tour-operators all made an effort to save the tourist season from collapse. For example, tour operators got in touch with our clients and to keep them informed and reassure them about the situation in the country and, as I said, many of them finally came so that, in the end, the number of tourists from western countries was more or less the same last year as in previous years. The situation with tourists from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and other CIS countries was different. The number of tourists was several times fewer than in previous years. The Issyk-kul region suffered a lot because the number of these tourists from the CIS countries was very low. This year we have to attract new clients, but it is not going to be that easy because many people in the western countries still remember the events that took place last year in Kyrgyzstan, even thought the political situation is stabilized now. That negative image of the country remains.
A lot of work was done during the year, but we need to do more. We’ve increased the amount of advertisement of the country. It is mostly has been done by the Destination Marketing Association (DMA). This year we are participating in more exhibitions and fairs than in previous years. Our main task has been to convince people to come to Kyrgyzstan. Although many people are asking about the possibility of visiting the country, my guess is that, this year, the number of tourists is going to be similar to, if not fewer, than in previous years.
I cannot say exactly how many tourists are going to visit the country this year.
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism says that this year the number of tourist that are coming to the country this year is going to be more than one million. What do you think about that?
I do not know where they get these figures. I think they might only represent the hoped for result, but sometimes our hopes and wishes do not coincide with reality.
I guess you will remember that 2001 was announced as “The Year of Tourism”. In February of that year I met an official who said: “You (tourist companies) are going to be successful this year because many tourists are going to come”. I asked him why he thought so, and do you know what his answer was? He said: “Because the President announced this as the year of tourism.” It was funny. Of course, we all want every year to be successful, and we want as many tourists to come to the country as possible, but an announcement of the President, on its own, is not enough.
I cannot make a general prognosis for the tourist season. One reason is that there is a tendency throughout world, where tourists travel to other countries without the help of tour-operators, (i.e. independent tourists). They make their own arrangements, buy their tickets and fly, without buying packages from tour operators.
What are the most important factors that influence the tourist season?
Firstly: knowledge and information. This is the most important factor. If there is no information about the country and the possibilities on offer, then people won’t know about us, and won’t come. We will have no tourists. If, in previous times, people in the West did not know about Kyrgyzstan, then the situation is better today as many people now know that there is such a country as Kyrgyzstan, but it is not enough. We need to talk about the country more, disseminate more information in the international mass media, not only in Russian but also in English and other languages. The information must be in all forms, not only in form of advertisements. We have to write small articles about the environment, animals, culture and traditions, to make people interested. In the countries of the CIS, many people know that Kyrgyzstan is a former part of the former Soviet Union, but there are differences between the Kyrgyzstan of today and Kyrgyzia in the period of Soviet Union. For instance, I came to this country for the first time in 1994, and the country is quite different nowadays. What people in Russia know about present day Kyrgyzstan?
Secondly: the difficulty in getting here – for example, there are not very many flights or international trains. (Even to get from Almaty to get to Lake Issyk Kul, visitors have to go round the mountains, which makes quite a long and tiring journey.) Then there is the question of obtaining a visa. I often get questions about visas, and although we can say that Kyrgyzstan has a fairly good visa regime – there are not that many Kyrgyz embassies and consulates around the world and although it is possible for tourists to get a visa on arrival at Manas airport, what if the tourist wants to come to Kyrgyzstan from China, or from Kazakhstan, by car? They will not be able to get one on arrival because there is no provision for obtaining a visa at the border.
Another important factor which can influence on the inflow of tourists is the quality of experience when they are here. We have to think about the interface between the Kyrgyz and the tourists. The most important thing is that we have to make people feel welcome. Everyone who meets and interacts with tourists, (all the law enforcement bodies, drivers, guides, waiters and others) should smile to make the visitors feel comfortable. If the tourist has a good experience in Kyrgyzstan; if, for example, there will be no problems with, say, customs or traffic police … then they will spread the good news when they return home and number of tourists in the future will increase.
We also should try to improve the infrastructure, build new hotels, guest-houses, roads, toilets, etc. Sometimes, for example, there is a lack of space in hotels and guest-houses. It may not happen often, but anyway we have to build new ones in order to create competition between them. We should also think about new places where tourists can listen to national music or simply see the culture and traditions of the nomadic Kyrgyz. Tourists from western countries are not usually interested in resorts, but they are more interested in traditions and culture. They can go Turkey or Greece, Spain or Italy to lie on the beach, but they come here to see the mountains, wildlife and experience the nomadic way of life.
There are other points. A small one is that, in Kyrgyzstan, all the signs are written in Russian and Kyrgyz. For many international tourists this creates difficulties. Of course it looks exotic when they see sign-boards in other languages, but it is not convenient. It would be helpful to write signs, (especially ones for tourists), not only in Russian and Kyrgyz, but also in English. If, for example, you go to a museum, all the signs will be in Russian or Kyrgyz. You will find no catalogues or brochures in English, (and even in Russian there are not that many of them). It would be a good idea to develop new catalogues and brochures which can be interesting, attract attention and also that can be taken home and shown to other people.
Today we have a national marketing strategy on promotion of Kyrgyzstan as the land of tourism which should be implemented till 2010. What do you think how effective is that strategy?
I think that there are problems with this strategy. There are too many items in the list of things that should be done, and there is not enough financial support for it. If there is insufficient finance, then the strategy will just remain as print on paper.
Is the private sector ready to give financial assistance for realization of this strategy?
We have had a lot of discussions about this. Generally speaking, the private sector is willing to contribute to various marketing activities. However, it is not the role of the private sector to advertise, market or promote the country as such. Principally this is the role of the state – it affects the economy as a whole and involves the image of the country. The state will benefit from their investment in this activity by an increase in tax revenues if, and when, the number of tourists increases and the tourism sector develops. Businessmen, on the other hand, are primarily responsible for advertising their product, not the country. As it happens, in the past they have had to promote the whole country as well as their own tour products, because of the general lack of information about Kyrgyzstan which has been available. That is the reason the DMA was established – to promote the country as a tourist destination. Currently it is funded from both the State and Private sectors, with additional assistance from the Swiss government. In the DMA it is intended to bring together both the State and the private sector in cooperation – because together we can achieve far more than if we work separately and in isolation from each other.
Bishkek