Mountainous territories provide an opportunity to develop active adventure tourism in Kyrgyzstan. First of all, these are rafting, hiking, trekking, horseback riding, jeep riding, and ecotourism. It was announced in Kyrgyzstan’s pavilion as part of COP29.
The head of the Tourism Development Support Fund in the Kyrgyz Republic, Kylychbek Rysaliev, noted that natural resources will be used carefully, introducing green technologies.
The Fund has developed several projects, including all-season ski resorts:
- Baytik Resort in Kashka-Suu village in Chui region,
- Three Peaks in Issyk-Kul region,
- Chatkal Resort in Jalal-Abad region.
Kylychbek Rysaliev told in more detail about Baytik Resort project.
The total area of the project site is 1,800 hectares, the investment volume is more than €101 million. The construction is divided into 5 stages — until 2028, the payback period is 7 years.
More than 50 km of ski trails and routes will be laid, 22 cable cars, hotels, restaurants, houses will be built by 2028. The throughput is 10,000 skiers per day.
«According to research conducted in recent years, 2 — 3 percent of the population can become potential skiers. This means that there can be up to 30,000 potential skiers in the regional market alone. Within a 4-hour flight radius, Bishkek reaches a market with a population of 1 billion people, and within a 6-hour flight radius — 3 billion. Research has shown that it is possible to attract about 100 million potential visitors,» Kylychbek Rysaliev told.
He noted that the ideal mountainous terrain, as well as the abundance of water flows, are perfect conditions for a year-round plan for the development of mountain tourism, skiing. The resort is all-season, all 365 days a year, guests can find convenient entertainment for themselves — winter and summer sports activities, as well as year-round passive activities, such as panoramic viewing platforms, and much more.
Kylychbek Rysaliev noted that the existing ski resorts will be repaired, improved and combined into one year-round cluster of ski tourism.
Experts predict an increase in the number of tourists in Kyrgyzstan. However, they emphasize that climate change has a significant impact on the tourism sector, which is expressed in changes in natural conditions, which are the basis for various types of tourism.
Water resource problems also affect tourism infrastructure, which becomes especially noticeable in the summer when access to water is limited.
Adaptation and transition to sustainable practices are required to minimize negative impacts.
The UN Climate Change Conference has been taking place in Baku since November 11.
