The draft program of sustainable development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan for 2025-2030, submitted for public discussion, outlines the main problems in the sector.
First of all, the drafters of the document note the imperfection of the system of state and municipal management, which leads to a low level of preparation and decision-making, which are not based on analytical materials.
Weak and unreliable statistics in the industry does not allow government agencies and tourism entrepreneurship to develop any projects and make important economic and political decisions. «Mechanisms for regulating the industry are insufficient and the existing ones are not effective. The lack of mechanisms at the state and local levels to stimulate the tourism business does not allow the sector to develop effectively,» the draft program says.
The unfavorable investment climate in the sector hinders the implementation of infrastructure projects.
From the draft program of tourism development
It is noted that the country is still little known in the world tourism markets, as the promotion of the national tourist product is not effective enough, the level of information provision of the industry is low and there is an insufficient number of promotional materials.
The problems of the service market are poor diversification of the tourist product, seasonality, underdevelopment of tourism and basic infrastructure, lack of standards and regulation of the quality of services, lack of a database on tourist attractions, resources and subjects of the industry.
The ecological and environmental situation in tourism requires increased attention every year, there are problems with the protection of historical, cultural and natural heritage. The Kyrgyz Republic ranks 126th out of 180 countries in the 2023 Global Environmental Performance Index, annually compiled by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
Tourism safety, particularly in the mountains, is at a low level. The Kyrgyz Republic gained 30 points with an acceptable level of 70 and a maximum of 100 points in the international rating of tourism safety in the mountains.
An acute problem in the tourism industry is also a weak human resources policy associated with an ineffective system of training required in the labor market.
In addition, there is still a lack of understanding of the essence and importance of sustainable development of the industry.
The Ministry of Economy hopes that as a result of the implementation of all measures of the program, the share of tourism in the GDP of the Kyrgyz Republic will reach 7 percent by 2030. The number of foreign tourist arrivals will grow to 7 percent annually.
