On October 20, the International Business Council (IBC) will hold a roundtable "Problems and prospects of Kyrgyzstan tourism industry." The event will start at 9:00 am at the Golden Tulip Bishkek hotel, Sapphire Hall. Registration will start at 8:30 am.

Representatives of Presidential and Governmental offices, the Parliament, heads of state agencies and representatives of tourism associations and hospitality services will attend the meeting.

Reforms undertaken by the Government, including the introduction of a visa-free regime for developed countries, helped increase the number of tourists visiting the country. Leading world journals included Kyrgyzstan in their lists of recommended destinations.

However, according to international experts, Kyrgyzstan uses less than 15 percent of its tourist potential. The further tourism development requires an urgent solution of issues at the state and interstate levels. For instance, Kyrgyzstan’s airlines have been in the so-called "blacklist" of the European Union for the past 10 years, which prevents direct air links with the EU countries and hinders the growth of passenger traffic. The system of issuing electronic visas of the Kyrgyz Republic has not been introduced so far, and there are many complaints on difficulties in obtaining visas and their extension.

What measures should be taken in order Kyrgyzstan could compete in international and regional tourism markets? How to promote the country's tourism product and activate the participation of businesses in the tourism industry development? The roundtable participants will discuss many issues at the meeting. As a result of discussion, it is planned to develop joint recommendations to improve the country's tourism potential.