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Choosing Ecotourism in Kyrgyzstan

Purpose-driven tourism – for people and nature

By Plateau Perspectives

February 19^th, 2020

The Land of Mountain Nomads

Kyrgyzstan has long been home to a nomad culture that is both dependent on and clearly enamoured by horses. It also is a land extremely rich in resources - from much gold and many mountain glaciers, to water resources used for energy and irrigation, to the vast rangelands used by livestock herders in the Tianshan Mountains and an abundance of wildlife, along with a long enduring cultural heritage.

Kyrgyz boy and his horse

The new 'must-see' destination

Over the past quarter century, from a largely unknown region 'hidden away' somewhere in the distance and in the obscurity of the former Soviet republics, Kyrgyzstan now finds itself at the top of global lists of must-see destinations! Whether for exploration in the unknown or adventure, or to discover nature, culture, or even oneself, Kyrgyzstan is now a hot destination. Four key features have enabled it to reach its present fame: its snow-capped mountains, its welcoming and hospitable culture, the 'community based tourism' model that is now well developed across much of the country, and a visa-free regime allowing easy access for tourists.

Eagle and his partner

Strong talons, grip of partners

Planning the hunt

Sharp eyed, ready for the kill

Hunter and eagle, on horseback in the mountains

Among all of its resources, nature and culture are clearly the two main 'assets' for the country's tourism sector, drawing people from far and wide to visit and experience Kyrgyzstan.

But tourism can take on many different forms

And it can benefit different people.

Or harm them.

In search of sustainability

“Making tourism more sustainable is not just about controlling and managing the negative impacts of the industry. Tourism is in a very special position to benefit local communities, economically and socially, and to raise awareness and support for conservation of the environment.” (UNEP & UNWTO 2005)

Sustainable tourism, responsible tourism

While tourism assets are clearly abundant in Kyrgyzstan, greatest priority should be given to "high value, low number" forms of tourism - with special attention given to the valuable contributions that appropriate tourism can bring for development, rather than simply maximising numbers of visitors...

Tourism should be sustainable, and it should be environmentally and socially responsible. Always.

Sustainability reflects mainly on the overall and long-term viability of tourism systems including their social, economic and environmental dimensions, whereas the notion of responsibility seeks, moreover, to recognise the important roles that every stakeholder in the sector has to play to ensure sustainability. Responsibility also points to the fact that all the right people should be involved in important processes of developing the sector - including for making the most fundamental decisions of whether tourism is even a desired option for a place and community, and if so, what form such tourism should take. No development should take place - of tourism or otherwise - without the people who are most affected either themselves initiating the process or duly giving their free, prior and informed consent. Further, appropriate access and benefit sharing mechanisms must be in place for local communities, including also indigenous peoples (as applicable), to duly derive benefit from an area's or a territory's resources.

Need for a tourism typology

Seemingly, though, most people tend to conflate different forms or approaches in tourism - including practitioners, planners, scholars, and guests alike - leading to unnecessary losses, sometimes to conflict.

For example, because of such confusion, nature tourism is wrongly assumed to automatically bring about conservation outcomes, when in fact it only sees nature as an asset to monetise. In a similar way, community based tourism is implicitly assumed to be sustainable and fair, though in practice its main focus is simply participation and leadership by local people, but full access and equity across the wider community have not always materialised from the new emerging opportunities. For its part, culture-oriented tourism is assumed to be responsible and empowering of local communities, yet people and traditions are often objectified, and thus diminished...

More often than not, though, assumptions are proven wrong. Bringing common understanding to these important issues, in tourism as in other sectors, can help to rectify such matters.

So, now, the fundamental question arises: What exactly is Ecotourism?!?

To answer this, as a first step we need to disentangle several meanings. There are so many terms used in the tourism sector, that much confusion has arisen! Furthermore, whether because of people's limited knowledge or understanding or because their motivation for a quick profit trumps their commitment to truth-in-marketing, many people and companies simply advertise what they believe their potential customers wish to hear, or rather, purchase.

A simple and clear tourism typology is therefore greatly needed - as it is only as terms are clearly defined that can we properly begin to discuss ideas and to seek consensus on where or how we wish to proceed.

Kyrgyz herder riding across the rangeland

Going to school in winter

Four categories...

The wide range of terms used in tourism in Kyrgyzstan, as elsewhere, can be broken into several main categories, which will help with communication and consequently also with development planning, decision making, and operationalising the tourism sector. Some terms are simply descriptive, while other inherently contain elements of purpose or direction...

Four categories are here identified within the tourism sector, dividing the myriad of types of tourism according to their fundamental characteristics, main areas of focus or interest, or driving purpose.

Basic characteristics of tourism

Sustainable tourism is not a discrete or special form of tourism. Rather, all forms of tourism should strive to be more sustainable.

In a similar way, responsible tourism aims to ensure that impacts from tourism are minimised and benefits derived from tourism are equitably shared.

Geographic focus of tourism

Tourism always occurs in particular places, each with its own situations and unique possibilities, and sometimes also challenges or constraints. Mountain tourism is self explanatory due to its location, but largely seeks to stimulate local economic growth.

For its part, tourism in protected areas seeks to advance the wellbeing of people living in/near protected areas, such as national parks, and simultaneously to support conservation goals either through financing or by reducing conflict.

Assets-based tourism

Tourism may equally be developed solely on the basis of available assets. In essence, this is the case for nature tourism, culture tourism, adventure tourism and more.

Purpose driven tourism

Ecotourism and community based tourism, for their part, are driven by their underlying goals, particularly in relation to community benefits, to environmental conservation, and to education.

Archery practice at a yurt camp

Village and mountains in southern Kyrgyzstan

Winter landscape in the Naryn countryside

Tourism ventures may exhibit features from more than one of the above categories and can thus be simultaneously labeled by several names - but in every situation, the tourism ventures or activities should always be properly identified, never misrepresented.

Which brings us now, finally, to providing a specific definition for Ecotourism!

ECOTOURISM DEFINED

Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.

The International Ecotourism Society

Milking mares in the summer pastures

Sustainable Mountain Development

Embedded within a framework of Sustainable Mountain Development, tourism may be leveraged to contribute in meaningful ways to the necessary adaptation by agro-pastoralist communities living in fragile socioecological systems in the face of climate change as well as globalisation. In mountainous regions in Central Asia, melting glaciers are already leading to significant changes in seasonal water availability and therefore people's predominantly agricultural livelihoods will need to be modified, largely through diversification of income streams. Likewise, left unchecked, economic globalisation can harm both 'the local' and 'the traditional.' In contrast to larger scale tourism - based on a model that values economies of scale - smaller groups and uniquely tailored experiential travel, as offered through purpose-driven forms of tourism, can provide multiple benefits.

In short, if done right, tourism can help.

But let's make sure to get it right!

Herder riding home with his dogs after a day's outing

Sheering sheep at a summer camp in the mountains

Aerial view of agricultural fields and village in the Chui Valley, below the Tianshan Mountains

Tributary of the Naryn river in the Naryn Nature Reserve

Choosing Ecotourism in Kyrgyzstan

In October 2019, a trial ecotourism venture in the Lake Issykul region of Kyrgyzstan was organised as part of a project undertaken by Plateau Perspectives and Horseback Planet Society, in collaboration with Ilbirs Foundation and Araketke-Bereket, with logistic support provided by Ecoland Travel.

From this exploratory trip, the following short video was produced by Pavel Bolshakov.

"Choose Ecotourism, Discover Kyrgyzstan!"

Short film introducing the majesty of Lake Issykul and surrounding Tianshan Mountains, with their extraordinary potential for the development of ecotourism. Key messaging moves from highlighting the region's extraordinary natural and cultural assets, to inviting the viewer to join and participate in something BIG, something much more significant than just travelling - to choose ecotourism, and through ecotourism to genuinely begin to discover Kyrgyzstan!

In the heart of Central Asia, There are still treasures to be discovered

Join with mountain communities, discover nature, protect the environment

Learn of the traditions, the culture and history, and become part of something big

CHOOSE ECOTOURISM, DISCOVER KYRGYZSTAN!

Note: This video also is a 'trailer' for a longer documentary film that follows the experiences of a small group from China, Kyrgyzstan and beyond as they explore the region through ecotourism, partnering with two local community conservancies in the vicinity of Lake Issykul - the Shumkar Association in Chonkemin valley, comprised of former poachers who now monitor and protect local wildlife, and the community-run Baibosun Nature Reserve in the Tianshan Mountains on the south shore of the lake.

Filmed on location, this 20-minute documentary produced by Marc Foggin and Pavel Bolshakov is an integral part of an ecotourism development and community conservation project undertaken jointly by Plateau Perspectives and Horseback Planet Society, co-led by long-term friends and project partners Marc Foggin and Chris Yuan (那么). Coming soon!

UPDATE: The documentary film about ecotourism in Kyrgyzstan was launched on the International Biodiversity Day 2020. It is now available here. Mountain Partnership's press release is available here.

Findings to date...

Based on recent experiences in tourism development in Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere, the following findings are noted: (1) purpose driven forms of tourism such as ecotourism and community-based tourism are best placed to bring benefit for both people and nature, unlike assets-oriented models such as nature tourism; (2) ecotourism can help to strengthen community conservation efforts, thus assisting the country to meet its range of goals, obligations, and aspirations; and (3) Kyrgyzstan’s experience in community-based tourism is already rich, yet it could be further strengthened to broaden its impact and to enhance environmental purposes and outcomes.

Orchard in autumn, with Lake Issykul and the Tianshan Mountains in background

Key recommendations

Several practical recommendations are forthcoming:

* Prioritise ecotourism on basis of its three core purposes: conservation outcomes, community benefit, and education. Simultaneously encourage integration of conservation with community based tourism.

* Further strengthen already established assets such as mountains and glaciers, wildlife, horses, culture, etc. and also strengthen less established assets such as agri-tourism, star gazing, and also winter tourism.

* Develop and promote 'destination marketing' at regional level, such as through development of long-distance trekking and horse riding trails, modelled after the successful Great Himalayan Trail in Nepal.

* Create or strengthen specialist networks and associations (e.g. ecotourism, community conservation), including development of mechanisms for sharing of information and enabling peer-to-peer learning.

* Develop training programs in relevant knowledge and skills targeting both community practitioners and tour operators, inclusive of a certification system to facilitate recognition of achievements made.

* Explore and further develop the use of information and educational technologies to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with a special focus on development of ecotourism.

Horse waiting for his rider

Your horse is waiting!

Riding horses through the summer pastures and along rivers and mountain valleys comes naturally to rural Kyrgyz people from their youth. Through the development of community-centred ecotourism, visitors also can participate in their lifestyle and appreciate extraordinary traditional culture with some of the world's most beautiful mountain landscapes as backdrop. Recognising the value of community conservation for saving endangered wildlife, the traveller can equally support conservation outcomes by engaging in ecotourism with local rangers and other conservationists, rather than supporting only assets-based tourism. Partnering with local stewards of the environment, such as the Snow Leopard Guardians, both encourages them and strengthens them - and sometimes, you may even have the wonderful opportunity to set up camera traps or sight a rare and endangered wildlife species!

Come ride in Kyrgyzstan, where nature abounds and traditional culture flourishes - where there is ample opportunity to collaborate with, learn from and support community conservation in action.

____________________

Policy brief about purpose-driven tourism

Ecotourism has enormous potential to bring benefit for people and nature, but it will only succeed if properly understood. Ecotourism aims not only to benefit communities with employment, but just as importantly they are to have 'agency,' that is, the people themselves should be in charge of deciding the what, when, where and how of tourism -- they are the primary stakeholders, not just local assets in externally driven tourism. Furthermore, beyond being responsible and sustainable in nature, ecotourism seeks to bring about tangible conservation outcomes, whether through volunteer contributions of time and effort or by supporting local partners who themselves advance initiatives to protect the environment. Finally, all ventures should promote greater environmental awareness or otherwise aim to promote education or capacity development - whether this be of guests, tour operators, or local community members themselves. In short, by its definition, ecotourism must promote (1) community benefit, (2) conservation outcomes, and (3) education/awareness.

The policy brief to the left further introduces ecotourism as an important purpose-driven form of tourism, which should receive greater attention in national development planning on basis of the wide range of priority purposes it can help achieve.

Plateau Perspectives Policy Brief

Written by Marc Foggin, 20 February 2020

Photo credits: Title banner photograph © Bolshakov 2020, all other photographs © Foggin 2020

To citeFoggin, J. M. 2020. Choosing Ecotourism in Kyrgyzstan - purpose driven tourism, for people and nature. Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic: Plateau Perspectives. https://stories.plateauperspectives.org/choose-ecotourism/

Policy BriefFoggin, J. M. 2020. Ecotourism: Purposefully bringing benefit for both people and nature. Development Issues, No. 2. Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic: Plateau Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.13977.57449

Plateau Perspectives website

Footnotes

The Plateau Perspectives team wishes to thank all of its partners who assisted with this project, including local mountain communities and colleagues from Ilbirs Foundation, Araketke, and Ecoland.

FootNotes

The Plateau Perspectives team wishes to thank all of its partners who assisted with this project, including local mountain communities and colleagues from Ilbirs Foundation, Araketke, and Ecoland.

© 2026 Plateau Perspectives

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