Reports KYRGYZSTAN MARKET REPORT
Bumps in the
Silk Road Kyrgyzstan
Despite a new gambling law passed last year growth is limited thanks to a ban on locals from entering land- based casinos or legally accessing online gambling.
Te phrase ‘the right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away’ springs to mind when talking about business within Kyrgyzstan. Tere’s progress. And then there’s a constraint.
Even tourism has grown slowly mainly because there has been little investment. In the early 2000s around 200,000 tourists visited annually mostly from former Soviet Union countries whilst in 2019 this figure was 8.5 million dropping to 3.3 million in 2021.
In 2018 the country was voted fifth ‘best adventure travel destination’ by the British Backpacker Society. With stunning landscapes and a rich cultural heritage it is one of the best- kept secrets for travellers seeking an off-the-beaten-path type adventure.
Tourism accounted for about five per cent of the country’s GDP pre-Covid which fell to around 3.5 per cent during 2020/21.
A programme introduced for 2019-2023 aimed to improve the image of Kyrgyzstan as a destination for adventure, eco and agri-tourism and the aim was to boost the sector’s contribution to GDP to seven per cent by 2023. Tere has been a steady rise in the number of international tourists over the last 10 years and accommodation facilities have almost doubled.
P138 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
However, the tourism sector in Kyrgyzstan is still hindered by underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of qualified staff and it is estimated that only 15 to 20 per cent of the country’s tourism potential is being utilised. Bishkek has very few Western hotel chains and the resort Lake Issyk-Kul has none.
Te tourism sector employs around 40,000 people which is about two per cent of the Kyrgyz’s total employment.
Last year the government signed a ‘Tourism Development Support Fund’ with an authorised capital of KGS1bn (US$12m) aimed at improving the tourism sector with 34 projects ready to go.
Te plan is that funding will help improve infrastructure to encourage tourists to the region, create additional jobs, support vulnerable sectors of the population with training programmes, improve the level of education and quality of services in the tourism field, expand tours and create more competitive tourism products – basically aiming to increase the number of tourists visiting and improve the image of Kyrgyzstan internationally.
Te country is already anticipating that the number of foreign tourists should grow by at least 25 per cent this year.
Kyrgyzstan’s economy is also expected to grow over the next few years. It is estimated there will be a 4.5 per cent growth this year and four per cent in 2024. Per capita GDP growth is expected to be 0.8 per cent this year and 1.9 per cent next year.
It’s not an easy road, however.
Tere has been a slow recovery from the pandemic, whilst the country has been contending with border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, soaring inflation, increase in fuel and food prices, and the fall out from the Ukraine war.
In the aftermath of two revolutions, that saw authoritarian presidents ousted from their roles in 2005 and 2010, the country adopted a parliamentary government. Corruption, however, remains and unrest surrounding the annulled 2020 elections led to upheaval and violence.
Tere were major constitutional changes adopted a year later which increased presidential authority. A president can serve up to two five-year terms. President Sadyr Japarov was elected in January 2021 with 79 per cent of the votes but these were marred with irregularities.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164
