Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
144
vulnerability (as well as a vulnerability of inbound tourism caused by some regional political
and social issues).536
Any development has to be in collaboration with local communities and focus on sustainability
and inclusive growth. With the nature of the Inner Tyan-Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan could
stake a claim to be the place for extreme world championships. However, Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan need modern hotel infrastructure. The Issyk-Kul region, modern Tashkent, and
historical Samarkand and Bukhara can become MICE centers for conferences, summits, and
inter-government meetings too. Countries have to identify their particular niches and
positionings. For example, Uzbekistan is famous for its historical monuments and food, and
Kyrgyzstan has to strengthen its infrastructure for mountaineers and position itself as a
conveniently located adventure destination. Good roads with modern infrastructure and speed
trains between capitals and tourist spots in Central Asian states will radically contribute to
tourist flows in combined tours across several countries.537
Several countries, like Turkey and Thailand, which are still young but have already developed
touristically, have created an entire industry of small services for tours, and Central Asian
countries can imitate some of their best practices. For instance, Turkey is a very close example
[in terms of historical and cultural tourism], and they have similar tourism products. Cultural,
gastronomy, and city tours from the above-mentioned destinations can also be case studies on
how not to develop destinations. Thailand and Turkey have a lot of problems with large-scale
developments. Therefore, Central Asian countries can also learn from Egypt or neighbors like
Georgia and Iran. And based on benchmarked practices, they can create something new and
unique for extra spending. 538
Destinations are struggling to make visitors stay longer. To achieve this, they have to diversify
their offerings and perform not as a single country, but as a part of the Silk Road. No-one should
claim the Silk Road brand on their own, but as a joint decision, and NTOs should speak very
openly and bring tour operators together and tell them how to make their products and visitor
experiences more exciting. For instance, Uzbekistan does not offer a range of adventure travel
proposals. However, adventure is growing huge annually and globally. So, it may be a matter of
offering a cultural and heritage trip from Uzbekistan to Turkestan (Kazakhstan), then
delivering adventure travel in Kazakhstan for just 1-2 days (this could be something extreme
like heliskiing, paragliding or rafting). Just to make it more interesting and diverse. Between
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, there could be Issyk-Kul – Almaty hiking was offered during the
USSR period but is no longer available. Kazakh Tourism is pushing Kyrgyz to open the border
to go straight from Almaty to Issyk-Kul within a day by bike or horse. Issyk-Kul offers beach
holidays, but Almaty could offer casino gambling, sophisticated nightlife with night clubs, and
restaurants. So, this kind of initiative should be undertaken, as Kyrgyzstan is standing on their
own in ITB with a yurt, and Kazakhs are standing with the yurt as well. What’s the point in
bringing one yurt and spending that money on something else? There should be a single catalog
between all participating destinations.539
536 Interview with Head of the Department of Scientific Research and Work with Educational Institutions of GosComTourism
537 Interview with Deputy Director of Sun House Team DMO
538 Interview with Director of Silk Road Destinations DMO
539 Interview with Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Tourism