Steering Committee gets acquainted with the objectives of Winter Tourism project

On May 24, the first Steering Committee meeting the Winter Tourism Sustainable Development project was held.

The project is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan.

The project leaders presented the Steering Committee members and told them about the structure and objectives of the project. The meeting participants discussed the activities of the pilot phase of the project.

IBC Executive Director Askar Sydykov is a Steering Committee member.

According to UNWTO, tourism is among the largest and fastest growing industries in the world and gives the most jobs.

Sustainable tourism development requires a balanced approach to the consideration of economic, social and environmental goals related to tourism.

Possessing rich natural and cultural resources, mountain regions have a hidden tourist potential. For mountain communities, which are mainly located far from the markets, tourism is one of the few sources of income that is not related mountain grazing.

Tourism is designated as a priority sector in the National Sustainable Development Strategy of Kyrgyzstan and is included among the priority sectors in the action plan for supporting small and medium-sized businesses.

About the Helvetas country program in Kyrgyzstan

Helvetas is an international network of independent affiliate member organizations working in the field of development cooperation and emergency response. As a network, Helvetas promotes the fundamental rights of individuals and groups and strengthen governments and other duty bearers in their service provision. The Helvetas network builds upon six decades of development experience. With 1400 collaborators, it is engaged in 29 countries.

In Kyrgyzstan, Helvetas started its activities in November 1994. For 24 years, the organization implemented a number of different projects. At the moment, Helvetas in Kyrgyzstan implements 6 different projects in three main areas - Rural Economy, Education and Skills Development, Government and Peace. Read more: www.helvetas.org/en/kyrgyzstan