2.6 mln foreigners arrive in Kyrgyzstan in six months

Bishkek, Aug. 23, 2022 / Kabar /. In the first half of the year, there was a significant increase in the number of arrivals of foreign citizens to Kyrgystan, the National Statistics Committee reported. According to data of the Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, the number of foreign citizens crossing the border of the republic (arrivals) for the first half of this year amounted to 2.6 million, exceeding the level of the same period last year by almost 2 times. At the same time, 97% or 2.5 million are for border crossings by citizens from the CIS countries. Their greatest number was noted among the citizens of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. As for the arrivals of foreign citizens from countries outside the CIS, their number amounted to more than 74 thousand and increased by 1.8 times compared to the first half of last year. Citizens of Turkiye, Germany, the United States, India, China, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia made the largest number of crossings. As of July 1, 2022, more than 100 thousand economic entities (legal entities and individuals) engaged in economic activities related to the tourism sector are registered in the republic. More than 87% of the total number of registered economic entities are engaged in individual entrepreneurial activities. Acording to preliminary estimates, gross value added created in the tourism sector in January-June 2022 amounted to more than 10 billion soms, or 3.1% of GDP.