SCO countries need to work together to attract more tourists – Director of Tourism Department

Bishkek, Feb. 26, 2019. /Kabar/. It is necessary to strengthen cooperation between the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in order to attract more tourists, Director of the Tourism Department of the Kyrgyz Republic Maksat Damir Uulu told at the SCO Youth Forum on Tuesday.

He said that guests from distant countries who choose Kyrgyzstan for travels don’t limit their rest only to the country, they visit neighboring countries when possible – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, so it is necessary to make common efforts so that the inflow of tourists doubled.

“We need to strengthen our partnership, because those tourists who come from far abroad visit several countries at once to see the sights, cultural objects, and learn the history and culture of our countries,” the director stressed. “There is an initiative of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to create a "Silk visa". Kyrgyzstan also intends to join this cooperation. Now this issue is being worked out at the governmental level.”

Maksat Damir uulu concluded that it is necessary to preserve the historical and cultural heritage. If Uzbekistan has Bukhara and Samarkand, Kyrgyzstan is famous for Sulayman-Too, Tash-Rabat, and others, he said.