It is profitable, of course, profitable. But why does such a lucrative sector not yield the expected results? Is nothing being done? Not at all... There is a constant restructuring of management.
Has anything changed? Yes, first of all, prices for services have risen — without any change in the quality and range of the services themselves. The operation of tourist enterprises is profitable and advantageous. They reported on the restructuring, calmed down, forgetting that the measures taken were mainly cosmetic in nature.
But simply being profitable, that is, not losing money, is of little interest to anyone today. Let's model the situation. An entrepreneur with a sum of money can invest it in a business to get either three and a half or, say, five. What will he prefer? This is a problem, as they say, for first grade...
What reserves are there? And are there any?
The real path to increasing income in the republic is the production of high-quality and competitive goods. Any specialist will tell you that with the current production and technical capabilities of republican enterprises, a breakthrough in this area is impossible. We do not produce radio and television equipment comparable to Japanese, we do not sew highly sought-after jeans competitive with American ones, we do not make ultra-fashionable shoes and boots similar to Italian ones... The list of these "nots" can continue almost indefinitely. Even if we imagine that suddenly, by the wave of someone's hand, we received the most efficient equipment, it will turn out that there is no one to work on it. There is a lack of qualified personnel. All these circumstances indicate the necessity of experience in mechanized production. These problems cannot be solved even in ten years. And then there are market problems and market relationships, which impose additional obligations.
Is everything really hopeless?
Well, everything is clear with industry. But there is also agriculture. It is not hard to notice that we are losing here as well.
How can we save the sinking economy? The wise Khoja Nasreddin advised to show a drowning person a thick wallet full of money. He will then pull himself out. Continuing this metaphor, we can say that tourism can become such a saving means for the republican economy.
Being rich — we have already come to this thought today — is not shameful. And there are many paths to wealth; one of them is the creation and development of a modern tourism industry.
It is especially important to consider the economic prospects of tourism when you possess truly priceless natural treasures, such as the transparent blue waters of Issyk-Kul and the snowy peaks of Terskey, the natural gardens of Arslanbob and the healing caves of Sulyukta, as well as much more. The same infamous "air" can, with much lower costs than those required to create a developed industrial zone, not only clothe, shod, and feed people but also bring true prosperity. And this should also be added to the absence of ecological consequences, which are inevitable with the activities of industrial enterprises.
The first thing that needs to be done is to prepare for the transition in the sphere of tourist services to market relations. After all, tourism around the world is entrusted to self-employed entrepreneurs. There can be many forms: the creation of small enterprises, joint-stock companies, collective enterprises, the transfer of tourist enterprises to cooperatives or factories, families for rent, and the formation of private tourist shelters. Finally, it is necessary to transition existing tourist organizations to self-financing and self-sufficiency. Where will the funds come from? There are also many possibilities here. First, one can take a loan from a bank. Second, develop cooperative, private, collective, and joint-stock ownership. These measures alone will give tourist and resort organizations the status of independence. Relationships between enterprises will be built on a contractual basis.
Today, France receives about 5.5 million tourists engaged in winter sports alone. In the future, this flow is planned to be increased to 10 million people. The government sees reserves in the development of mountain and ski tourism — as the most competitive types that enjoy consistently high demand. A specialized program "Snow" has been developed and adopted within the framework of the national plan, which provides for the priority construction of mountain tourist complexes. Building such complexes is beyond the capacity of private capital, so the state provides large preferential loans. Behind this, of course, lies the recognition of tourism as an exceptional factor in the socio-economic development of the republic as a whole. At the same time, French specialists consider such spending of money to be highly effective due to not only the direct income from the operation of tourist complexes. Many problems of the national economy are also solved: employment of the population, leveling regional disparities, and economic revival of underdeveloped mountain areas.
Are we competing with France and Switzerland?! Not yet. And in the very near future, it seems, we will not be able to. And we will not be able to until we provide for the regrouping of capital investments in the development plan. Why? Here’s why...
A problem for a business person: With one som, you can invest it: a) in industry, b) in agriculture, c) in tourism development. In industry, each som will yield an income equal to 12.4 tyiyn, in agriculture — 5.5 tyiyn, and in the "non-productive" sphere of even seasonal tourism — the returns are incomparable, and even more so the payback period.
Advantages? They are obvious, at least for today. Income increases from the funds that arrive with tourists from other countries and from foreign currency. In the not-so-distant future, the development of tourism will play a role as a city-forming factor in many settlements in remote areas, increase the employment of the local population, allow for the sale of agricultural products locally, and shift purchasing power from large cities to economically less developed areas... After all, this is also significant.
Of course, it is difficult to implement this with the efforts of individual organizations. The large volume of work on creating tourism zones, engineering infrastructure, and mass training of personnel — all these problems require significant expenditures. And they must be addressed, undoubtedly, at the republican level, taking into account the material and technical base.
Additional funds, as already mentioned, can be provided on a commercial basis in the form of shares by interested enterprises and the population. It is advisable to involve interested organizations in the development and implementation of the program, as the experience of most European countries shows that these tasks are beyond the capacity of a single governing body without a variety of forms of ownership, interests, and competition.
All this, as well as much more that is not mentioned here, should leave no doubt: tourism is a profitable business, and managing it wisely is the key to future prosperity.
For the effective development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan, it will be necessary to build nineteen tourist complexes, ten tourist hotels, and ten ski hotels, five auto-camping sites, many tourist shelters and floating bases, and eighteen houses for hunters and fishermen.
Kyrgyzstan has a construction base in principle. The other question is: who will build? The free capacities of large construction and installation contracting organizations are sharply limited. A downside of these construction organizations is also the fact that they lack experience in erecting high-comfort buildings or equipping landscape-route corridors in remote mountainous areas. It seems more reasonable to involve republican organizations in general construction work, and to engage foreign firms for engineering equipment and finishing work. World practice shows that even if one of the two partners receives more than 50% of the total profit, the endeavor is mutually beneficial, not to mention other ratios. Considering our own limited capabilities, it is advisable to attract foreign firms to the construction of priority tourist facilities — in the form of joint ventures. The initial basis for attracting foreign firms will be the accumulation of freely convertible currency from the operation of trekking and climbing routes, water rafting, and houses for hunters and fishermen. Another factor is the interest of foreign firms in obtaining profits in joint ventures, even if they will receive no more than 40% of the profit.