Our country was called the second Switzerland back in the era of the country's independence. The same alpine meadows, snow-covered slopes for trails of any complexity, picturesque gorges for building hotels next to coniferous forests at the foot of mountains with snow-white peaks. But all what was discussed 30 years ago remained as intentionsand projects.
The situation changed when President Sadyr Zhaparov personally decided to take up this issue, visiting ski resorts in other countries. In the conditions of a unique natural landscape in Kyrgyzstan, there were only a few ski resorts and recreation areas built during the Soviet era, the most famous and popular of them in Karakol.
President Zhaparov took the initiative into his own hands. In the coming year, he has already made two trips, where in addition to solving political issues, he personally studied the experience of partners in creating modern ski resorts.
The Amirsoy complex near Tashkent became the venue for recent informal summit meeting between the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Sadyr Zhaparov adopted the experience of creating first-class tourist industry facilities, where the organization of winter recreation meets high standards.
The head of Kyrgyzstan shared his impressions on his page in social networks. “94% of the territory of our state is occupied by mountains. Each of our seven regions could have such ski resorts.
But we practically do not have them. Why? Because since gaining independence, from ordinary people to presidents, we have been engaged exclusively in politics. We had protests every day, every day — tois (festivity). No attention was paid to the economy, tourism and other important areas.
Having looked at the Amirsoy ski resort, I was amazed. My colleague Shavkat Mirziyoyev built this high-level base from scratch. No words. Well done.
How many people are provided with work! Millions of tourists come here to relax. The level of service is not inferior to the European one. Everything is at the highest level,” Sadyr Zhaparov noted.
And in mid-January, the president visited Altai. The head of state was able to get acquainted there with the work of the Manzherok tourist complex. The landscapes are very similar to ours. However, not only in the natural landscape, but also culturally and historically, this Russian region is close to Kyrgyzstan.
"Until now, in Altai, one can find names of places, mountains and regions that are consonant with our toponyms, which also has its own meaning. Thus, for the Kyrgyz, Altai is another golden cradle, a sacred land that connects us with our history and inspires us spiritually!
I visited Altai, where I visited the new Manzherok ski resort (translated into Kyrgyz - "Min zhurok", which means "A thousand hearts").
This is a new vacation spot. Half of the complex is already completed, and the other half is under construction. It was important for me to personally see the infrastructure, service, and construction of guest houses. Now I am sending the chief architect there with the builders so that they can see everything with their own eyes,” said Sadyr Zhaparov.
At the initiative of the President, domestic specialists visit foreign countries, primarily European countries, which have extensive experience in the construction and development of ski resorts. This is all extremely important, as the President emphasizes, in connection with the launch of the largest Three Peaks project in the modern history of Kyrgyzstan. This will be a tourist town with dozens of hotels, a so-called cluster with a wide range of services, with convenient transfer to the mountain slopes of Jyrgalan, Ak Bulak and Bozuchuk, where trails of varying difficulty levels will be laid (with a total length of 250 km), ski lifts, cozy cafes and other infrastructure for recreation and skiing will be installed. It is planned that this complex on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul will welcome its first guests at the end of 2025.
There are no comparable tourism industry projects in Central Asia. Three Peaks will be able to receive about 850 thousand guests per year, 4,600 jobs will be created, and tax revenues from the resort's activities will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Political scientist Timur Saralaev draws attention to the fact that a comprehensive approach implies the development of various sectors of the economy. We cannot only engage in mineral development, or only tourism. Therefore, all sectors must work, complementing and stimulating each other.
"Today, Kumtor's contribution to the economy is gradually changing. For example, in 2020, Kumtor's share in GDP was 12.5%, and now it is about 9%, which is an important indicator. This does not mean that Kumtor's income has decreased, it indicates that the economy of Kyrgyzstan is reviving. Over the past five years, the results of domestic production have shown sustainable development.
The implementation of new large projects in the country, such as the Three Peaks ski complex, the construction of facilities around the Tamchy airport, the development of the Kyzyl-Ompol deposit and other investment projects, create new economic drivers for the state. This will open up new opportunities for Kyrgyzstan and lead to the attraction of billions of dollars," Timur Saralaev said.
Expert Maksat Chakiev said that due to the lack of service, only those who are ready to spend the night in tents go to Kyrgyzstan, or they arrange it privately, not spending much money. At the same time, when the infrastructure of high service and comfort appears, wealthy lovers of winter recreation will flock to our country. "Every tourist visiting a ski resort or base leaves at least from a thousand to one and a half thousand dollars. The whole world has long been developing these elite areas. And in this regard, I support the initiatives of the president, firstly, on the construction of such facilities, and secondly, because even at the stage of project development, foreign experience is studied, organizing such complexes. "We have a lot laid down by nature itself for the development of this direction," Masksat Chakiev emphasized.
In terms of the development of winter tourism, the construction of ski resorts and hotels, Kyrgyzstan has seen a revival that has not been seen for decades. And, of course, the processes being laid down now stimulate the emergence of new holiday destinations in the country, and not only near the capital, but also in the regions. We have everything for this - beautiful mountains with diverse slopes, a unique natural landscape and a lot of snow.