About 8 mln foreigners visit Kyrgyzstan every year: ministry

Bishkek, April 22, 2022. / Kabar /. During a session of the Jogorku Kenesh on Friday, MPs heard information from the Cabinet of Ministers on preparations for the 2022 tourist season. The information was presented by Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism - Director of the Department of Tourism Samat Shatmanov. He said that every year, the department carries out relevant work in accordance with the approved action plan on preparation and holding of the winter and summer tourist seasons. Shatmanov said that a project on virtual 3D-travel in Kyrgyzstan has been launched. "The website www.map.tourism.gov.kg provides an opportunity to visit different corners of our country online. Since its launch, the site has been visited by about 6 million people," the director of the Department of Tourism informed. During the discussion, deputy Elvira Surbaldieva drew attention to the deplorable condition of privatized boarding houses. Her counterpart Akylbek Tumonbaev, recalling that Karakol city was chosen as the CIS Cultural Capital in 2022, asked about the allocated financial resources. MP Aibek Matkerimov inquired about the expected number of tourists this year. Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy Azamat Zhamankulov said that annually about 8 million foreign citizens visit Kyrgyzstan. "Of these, 30% come for tourism purposes. Over the past two years, because of the pandemic, the number of tourists decreased sharply. We are working to attract tourists to our country," the minister added. In response to a question of MP Meikinbek Abdaliev on the ongoing work with neighboring countries to develop the sphere of tourism, the rapporteur said that negotiations are underway with China and Kazakhstan on the conditions of issuing tourist visas. In addition, the deputies identified issues of attracting investment in tourism, the need to develop tourism infrastructure and improve the quality of services. The importance of information campaign to promote the tourism potential of the country in the world markets was also noted.