Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
121
Figure 41: The Silk Road and International Institutions411
Source: UNWTO
Infrastructure: One of the critical priorities for complex infrastructure development is to
identify the routes, and the segments within these routes, connecting tourism spots along the
Silk Road, as its tour product tends to attract travelers along integrated routes and corridors
rather than to individual sites or destinations. 412 There is a definitive lack of information
regarding complex Silk Road travel and the logistics of traveling these routes and corridors.
This prevents potential visitors from choosing the Silk Road as a travel destination.413
In modern Kazakhstan, which long served as a main line of the Silk Road, great attention is paid
to road infrastructure. Around 3000-4000 km of roads are built and/or renovated every year.
There is a state program called “Nurlijol,” which funds roads that will connect Nur-Sultan, the
capital in all four directions – East, West, North, and South. The southern destinations will be
connected to the eastern ones and so on. The most prominent connection is a corridor between
Horgos, which is on the border of Kazakhstan and China, with Samara in Russia. It is a part of a
larger project called the Western Europe - Western China International Transit Corridor,
connecting Lianyungang with Saint Petersburg. The distance is close to 10,000 km, with
Kazakhstan’s share being 2,700 km. This connection supplies an excellent road network to
major tourist destinations such as Charyn Canyon, Turkestan city, and Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Many attractions and sights are currently connected through the group of highways within the
New Silk Road economic corridor. The road from China already attracts visitors who can travel
by car. The next step will be tourist buses, taking tourists from China to Horgos or Turkestan,
and then to Tashkent or Bishkek. The roads are still missing services such as gas stations and
411 "Turkey and the Silk Road on the 8th UNWTO Silk Road Task Force Meeting," Ministry of Culture and Tourism, last
modified April 26, 2018,
412 "Developing a Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the Silk Roads Heritage Corridors."
413 "Building a Stronger Silk Road: Strategic Recommendations for Enhancing Tourism with a Special Focus on Central Asia
Compiled by UNWTO in Collaboration with a Team of International Experts," UNWTO, accessed October 13, 2019,