BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 24. Helvetas - an independent Swiss development organization is promoting the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan's remote Alay and Chon-Alay districts from 2018, a source in Helvetas told Trend.
Within the framework of Bai Alai: Small Business and Income Creation Program, the organization significantly contributed to the increase of the number of tourist arrivals to the region and almost doubled it by 2019 which was the best tourism year in the project duration.
The Alay and Chon-Alay districts are among the most remote from the capital of Kyrgyzstan. In addition, this region is mountainous, located at an altitude of 1,560 to 3,536 m above sea level.
"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic most of the activities in the tourism sector were either cancelled or postponed. Thanks to the activities on diversification to local and regional markets, the total number of tourists’ arrivals to the programme area in 2021 increased significantly - 1.5 times more than in 2019," the Helvetas said.
Moreover, the organization noted that sales of tour products in 2021 increased eight times over last year, but this still reached only 30 percent of the level achieved in 2019.
The Swiss Bai Alai Program is now in its final phase, during which the main focus will be on building the capacity of local partners and beneficiaries.