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Kyrgyzstan (official name: The Kyrgyz Republic) is located in Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan's borders are with the former Soviet Union republics of: Kazakhstan, to the north (1,113km long), Uzbekistan, to the west (1,374km long), Tajikistan, to the south (972km long), and China to the south and east (1,049km long).
Area: Stretching 900km from east to west and 425km from north to south, Kyrgyzstan's total landmass is 198,5 thousand square kilometers.
Mountains: The Kyrgyz Republic is a mountainous country. Ninety-four percent of the country is over 1,000m above sea level and about forty-one percent is over 3,000m. The average elevation is 2,750m; the highest elevation is 7,439m; and the lowest is 401m. The highest points of the Tien-Shan mountain range are the Pamir (7,439m) and Khan-Tengri (6,995m) summits.
Water Resources: 1,923 mountain lakes and about 40,000 rivers and streams (the Naryn River crosses most of the country before flowing into the Syr Darya on its way to the Aral Sea). The biggest lakes are Yssyk-Kol (6,236 sq. km), Son-Kol (278 sq. km), and Chatyr-Kol (171 sq. km).
Climate: The climate of Kyrgyzstan is continental, with a relevantly small amount of atmospheric precipitation. On average there are 247 sunny days annually. In the lowlands, the temperatures vary from -4° / -6°C (21 / 24°F) in January to 16/24°C (61 / 75°F) in July. In the highlands, the temperatures vary from -14° / -20°C (7 / -4°F) in January, to 8 / 12°C (46 / 54°F) in July.
Tourism Seasons:
Jailoo (high altitude summer pastures): Mid-May - early October
Trekking / climbing: Year-round
Hiking at 4,000m ASL: Late June - late October
Horseback riding: March to November (South), April to October (North)
Time: GMT+5
Capital: Bishkek
Population: More then 5 million
Ethnic Groups: Kyrgyz 66,9%, Uzbek 14,1%, Russian 10,7%, Dungan 1,1%, Uighur 1,0%, other 6,2%
Religions: Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20%, other 5%
National Currency: 1som = 100 tyiyn.
The Kyrgyz economy is basically cash based.
Electricity Supply: 220 Volt, 50 Hz
Water: In cities it is usually safe to drink tap water but bottled spring and mineral water is available throughout the country
Languages: Kyrgyz, Russian (official). Many people in the capital speak English.
Airlines serving Bishkek: Kyrgyzstan Airlines, Aeroflot, Pulkovo Airlines, S7, UK based BMI, Turkish Airlines, Uzbek Airlines, China Xinjiang Airlines.
Airlines serving Almaty (250km north, Kazakhstan): Lufthansa, KLM
Visa: 30-day tourist visas available to most nationalities upon arrival at Manas International Airport, Bishkek
Consular Point at the International Airport "Manas" Tariffs: #
| Type of VISA
| Consular tariffs and
actual expenses
| 1
| Single entrance VISA:
- up to one month
| -
| 2
| Tourist VISA: - up to 14 days
- up to 1 month
- over 1 month and double-ply visa up to one month
- for froups from each person up to 1 month
| -
70
-
-
| 3
| Transit VISA: - up to 5 days
- double-ply
| -
-
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 Helvetas Kyrgyzstan
Helvetas was founded in 1955 as the first private development
organization in Switzerland. Helvetas is a non-partisan, politically and
confessionally independent association supported by 43,000 members and
40,000 regular private sponsors. It actively works through its 16
program offices abroad to improve the living conditions of disadvantaged
people in 20 partner countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Community based tourism (CBT) was initiated in May 2000 by Helvetas. This
initiative has great support from local people and today there are 18
actively working CBT groups throughout almost the whole of Kyrgyzstan.
For further development and coordination of the activities within the
country, these groups have established their own umbrella organization,
The Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association (KCBTA) – "Hospitality
Kyrgyzstan" in January 2003. The main objective of the KCBTA is to improve the living
conditions of people in remote mountain regions, by developing rural
tourism without harming the natural environment and culture of local
people.
KCBTA has committed a long-term alliance with Helvetas, a Swiss Association for
International Cooperation.
Helvetas is running programs world wide (for
more details, please visit the website at www.helvetas.kg).
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 ECEAT, the European Center for Eco and Agro Tourism
| ECEAT, the European Center for Eco and Agro Tourism, is an international non-governmental organization for the promotion and integration of tourism with rural development, sustainable land use and nature protection. ECEAT was established in 1991 - with financial support from the European Union - in order to promote tourism as an alternative source of income for the farmers and rural populations of Central Europe. From its early days, ECEAT has taken a practical and result oriented approach, taking responsibility for the full tourism product development and marketing chain. ECEAT has branches in more then 24 European countries, including all of the EU Mediterranean countries. One of the core activities of ECEAT is the maintenance and further development of a network of more than 1.800 accommodation sites, which contribute to sustainability.
ECEAT is an important international partner of the Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association. ECEAT provides consultancy to the KCBTA on many aspects of their activities, such as marketing, product development, quality control, institutional building and organizational aspects. At present, the KCBTA is included in the network of ECEAT and benefits inform the promotion of its services and Kyrgyzstan in general. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  EU Project
“Strengthening tourism business intermediary organizations for
sustainable economic development in Central Asia”
KCBTA is one of the main implementing partner organizations in Kyrgyzstan of
the EU Project.
The project will provide assistance in supporting organizational development of
KCBTA and CBT network throughout country; training the tourism service
providers and enhancing capacities of local communities; establishing the new
standards of quality system and control; enabling exchange experience of
Central Asian tourism associations and promoting CBT Kyrgyzstan services
abroad; providing lobby and advocacy for rural tourism service providers.
“The EU project on strengthening tourism BIO’s in Central Asia is a very
important step in further development of Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism
Association (KCBTA) and CBT network in Kyrgyzstan. The project will enable
KCBTA and its members to get new knowledge, enhance capacities of local service
providers, set higher quality standards and exchange experiences across Central
Asian countries. This activity will also help to make CBT Kyrgyzstan more
recognizable on the tourism market abroad” . Mr. Asylbek
Rajiev, KCBTA Executive Director
For details
please see ca invest - centralasia.pdf _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 The International Business Council (IBC) is a business association, established in December 2000, whose membership includes a wide range of local and international business who have created thousands of jobs and have a combined investment of over one billion USD in the Kyrgyz economy.
As
well as promoting the common interests of business investors and
providing members with relevant information and advice to support their
business operations, IBC’s mission is
to make the Kyrgyz Republic a more attractive investment location by
promoting good business legislation and efficient business practices,
working in partnership with the government of the Kyrgyz Republic and
other local and foreign organizations. IBC
actively supports the economic reform process and ensures that private
sector investors are represented in Government policy activities. IBC
also has strong recognition amongst the International Finance
Institutions, Embassies, and Donor Agencies as a key player in the
process of reform. IBC
supports the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, setting core
values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, environment and
anti-corruption. IBC encourages members to embrace, support and enact these principles within their sphere of influence.
IBC
works cooperatively with government and other local and international
organizations to fight against corruption and to change laws and
practice that impede social or economic justice. For
more details, please visit the website at www.ibc.kg.
|
 The Mountain Institute (TMI)
| The Mountain Institute (TMI) is a non-profit scientific and educational organization, committed to the preservation of mountain environments and the advancement of mountain cultures around the world. Since 1972, they have administered conservation, research, development, and education programs in the Andean, Appalachian and Himalayan Mountain Ranges.
The Mountain Institute's goal is to conserve mountain environments and cultural heritage, while improving the livelihoods of mountain people. The Mountain Institute (TMI) brings 25 years of scientific, field-based experience to address the challenges and opportunities facing mountain cultures, communities, and conservation. TMI provides active advisory support to mountain programs around the world. CBT initiatives in Kyrgyzstan, as well as the KCBTA, have received consultancy from the very beginning and continue to collaborate in this direction.
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KCBTA Hospitality Kyrgyzstan |
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Tourism in former-Soviet Kyrgyzstan is becoming easier, better and more value-packed. The Kyrgyz government recently began offering visas on-demand and has abolished mandatory OVIR registration. Entrepreneurs are creating international linkages and developing websites to sell services from new start-up trekking and travel agencies. A new genre of managers are working to give visitors more diversified, customer-oriented options. But still, in a country of breathtaking mountain vistas and countless unexplored adventures, tourism accounts for under half the average for countries globally (as percentage of GDP) and community based tourism is new. Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association “Hospitality Kyrgyzstan” (KCBTA), (the country’s driving force behind CBT best practices and innovation) is leading the charge. The association’s objective is to improve living conditions in remote mountain regions by developing a sustainable and wholesome ecotourism model that utilizes local natural and recreational resources. Located in the capital Bishkek, KCBTA is an umbrella association uniting 17 diverse destination communities (“CBT groups”) plus a 5-group association of shepherd families offering jailoo (yurt) tourism (“Shepherds’ Life”). The CBT association was registered on January 3, 2003 with support from Helvetas Kyrgyzstan Programme’s Community Based Tourism Support Project (CBT SP) with operations throughout the country.  Community based tourism (CBT) was initiated in May 2000. This initiative has great support from local people and today there are 18 actively working CBT groups throughout almost the whole of Kyrgyzstan. For further development and coordination of the activities within the country, these groups have established their own umbrella organization, The Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association (KCBTA) – "Hospitality Kyrgyzstan". The main objective of the KCBTA is to improve the living conditions of people in remote mountain regions, by developing rural tourism without harming the natural environment and culture of local people.
KCBTA supports the rural sector with cost effective administration centered in the interests of its chapters. KCBTA balances marketing strategy for local and international segments while fostering communication on new projects, activities and opportunities to its rural chapters. KCBTA encourages rational and responsible natural resource use through training on environmental protection, ecology, cooperation and heritage sites to local members of rural communities. KCBTA provides support to member organizations by marketing their services and products, providing business training, supporting organizational capacity building and organizing training, seminars and study tours. The association represents member interests in national policy development and negotiations within the mainstream tourism industry. KCBTA showcases each region’s best attractions. As a rule, tour operators are local community members and products are offered by local artisans. Local community members present attractions and their beauty with intimate, age old, insight and immersion in their lifestyle, history and culture. KCBTA chapters follow in the spirit and principles of the organization and support its "Hospitality Kyrgyzstan" brand. The central KCBTA office promotes balance between reasonable prices the highest possible quality. The KCBTA main office and its chapters work together to find consistent service and price policies as a strategy for create the most benefit for consumers and the rural tourism sector together. KCBTA’s primary partner is Helvetas, a Swiss Association for International Cooperation that has committed to a long-term alliance. Helvetas is running programs in more than 20 countries of the world (for more details, please visit the website at www.helvetas.kg). KCBTA also maintains close relationships with the State Committee for Tourism, Sports and Youth Policy, private tour companies and various international organizations and projects. 
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Weather forecast - Bishkek |
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