BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 23. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is implementing Master Plan Project for Regional development and tourism promotion through the utilization of World Heritage sites in the Chuy region of Kyrgyzstan, a source in JICA told Trend.
Under this project, which was launched in April this year and is due to finish by February 2026, JICA will carry out some pilot projects which are related to the direction of the master plan, aimed to develop sustainable tourism in Kyrgyzstan's Chuy region.
The main goal of this project is to formulate the tourism master plan for the Chuy Region, which will be used by Kyrgyz people working in the tourism sector.
"An essential theme of this project is to develop historical and cultural tourism resources as tourism products. In 2023, we intend to elaborate pilot project plan and start the project as soon as possible. We will continue the project during winter, but the activity will accelerate from the season of Nowruz (21 March)," the JICA said.
Chuy Region has three World Heritage sites (Silk Road heritages): Medieval sites in the Upper Chuy Valley: Navikat (Krasnaya Rechka), Suyab (Ak Beshim) and Balasagyn (Burana). The major tourism activities in the Chuy region include trekking, climbing, horse riding, nature tourism, and exploring Nomad Culture.
"After implementing the pilot projects, we will assess the results, identify lessons and apply those factors to finalize the tourism master plan. Therefore, the master plan process requires around four years for this project," JICA added.
JICA has started its activities in Kyrgyzstan in 1993, since that time the agency has been contributing to socio-economic and human resource development of Kyrgyzstan.