Kyrgyzstan’s nomadic cultural heritage is what sets it apart from other adventure destinations, according to Sophie Ibbotson, founder of tourism consultancy Maximum Exposure, speaking at the World Nomad Games in Cholpon-Ata.
For operators selling Central Asia, Ibbotson argues the games bring the country’s ethno-tourism, community-based tourism and adventure tourism together in a single event, with international media coverage extending its reach.
“It’s the biggest gathering of nomadic communities, I think, anywhere in the world,” Ibbotson told Emerging Travel. Competitors come to celebrate their cultures, cuisines and languages and to compete in sports from tug of war and horseback archery to wrestling and kok-boru, she said, with more than a thousand athletes and tens of thousands of spectators.
Ibbotson has a long connection to the country’s tourism planning. “Almost 20 years ago, in 2008 to 2009, my colleagues and I at Maximum Exposure wrote the first tourism promotion strategy for Kyrgyzstan,” she said. “During that process, we identified that the nomadic cultural heritage of Kyrgyzstan is its USP for tourism.”
“Yes, it’s a country with spectacular natural beauty, with mountains, with lakes. But what sets it apart from neighbouring countries and from other adventure tourism destinations is the very strong nomadic identity,” she said.
She said spectators were contributing to the local economy while coverage spread on television, social media and in newspapers. “In future years, I’m hoping that many more people will visit Kyrgyzstan because of the Nomad Games. That will be its legacy.”
Emerging Travel examined the economics of the event in Kyrgyzstan’s World Nomad Games drive ethno-tourism boom worth up to $120mn.
Emerging Travel also spoke to Aibek of Tenti Group about new tours in Kyrgyzstan.
Maximum Exposure is a consultancy and PR firm specialising in tourism, cultural heritage and nature in emerging destinations. It is a partner agency of Emerging Travel.
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