Tax payments to the budget of the republic from tourism activities in 2018 amounted to 107,054.9 million soms. Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Altynai Omurbekova said at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission for Coordination of Tourism Development Issues.
According to her, last year the share of tourism in GDP was 4.99 percent. At the same time, 6,946.5 million people from the countries of far and near abroad have visited Kyrgyzstan. Altynai Omurbekova noted that the government faced the challenge of making tourism one of the key budget-forming sectors of the economy.
«If we talk about the problems of domestic tourism, the main ones are the insufficient development of the infrastructure of tourist and recreational areas. In addition, there are not enough direct air routes in the republic connecting our country with the main tourist markets. And the level of service at airports, both local and international, does not meet international standards. The volume of state capital investments in tourism infrastructure is also insufficient,» she stressed.
The Vice Prime Minister stated that as of today one of the priorities is the improvement of infrastructure. It is necessary to open roadside cafes, campgrounds and hotels that will meet the quality standards and sanitary and epidemiological norms.
«The question how to make tourism business profitable, and the republic — attractive for foreign tourists should be one of the priorities in our work. It is known that air transport for tourists is the preferred kind of transport. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a network of airlines and modern airports. At the same time, the tourism sector should be ecologically oriented and develop taking into account the current environmental requirements,» Altynai Omurbekova summed up.
