On June 27, Kyrgyzstan welcomed the first tourists from Uzbekistan to Issyk-Kul Lake on an inaugural flight from Tashkent to Tamchy. During the 2019 summer holiday season this international charter flight is expected to bring nearly 3,000 tourists. The flight marketing is provided thanks to assistance from the U.S. Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its efforts to strengthen tourism and create jobs in Central Asia.

These summer flights are chartered by Inspiro Travel and Logistics, LLC in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistani tour operator “Asia Lux.” USAID assisted with marketing of the new route and trained tour operators on international standards of tourism services.

The first 140 tourists arriving at Issyk-Kul International Airport were welcomed in a special ceremony with the participation of the Representative of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Tourism Development Sardor Saidirasulov, Director of Tourism Department of the Kyrgyz Republic Maksat Damir uulu, Director of the Issyk-Kul branch of the Manas International Airport Murat Apyshev, and the USAID Mission Director Gary Linden.

The U.S. Government through USAID supports the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan as a sector of the economy with high growth potential. In the last five years, USAID helped to improve hotel and tour guide services, map new trails, develop new tourism products, install hundreds of road signs for tourists and promote Kyrgyzstan in international tourism markets. All of this work contributed to  Kyrgyzstan being included in Lonely Planet’s top five recommended destinations in the world for 2019.