Kyrgyzstan has become one of the largest players in the Central Asian tourism market. According to a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Kyrgyzstan citizens accounted for 19% of all foreign tourists visiting the region in 2025, 24.kg reports.
By this indicator, Kyrgyzstan ranked fourth after Kazakhstan (29%), Uzbekistan (22%), and Russia (20%), while China accounted for 2%.
At the same time, Kyrgyzstan became one of the top three most popular tourist destinations among Central Asians. Trips to the republic accounted for 18% of the region's outbound tourism flow. Only Uzbekistan (25%) and Kazakhstan (23%) recorded higher figures.
Overall, in 2025, the tourism industry contributed $20.1 billion to the Central Asian economy, corresponding to 4.3% of the region's total GDP. Compared to the previous year, tourism's contribution increased by 17.7%.
The growth in mutual tourism exchange indicates the emergence of a unified tourism space in Central Asia. Simplifying border crossings, developing transport links, jointly promoting regional routes, and improving the quality of tourism infrastructure are stimulating increased travel between neighboring countries.
For Kyrgyzstan, these high figures are particularly important given the active development of event and ecotourism, as well as the promotion of Issyk-Kul and the mountainous regions on the international market.
Experts note that further coordination of tourism policies among Central Asian countries and the creation of cross-border tourism routes could significantly increase the industry's contribution to the economic growth of the entire region, turning Central Asia into one of the most dynamically developing tourism destinations in Eurasia.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 5, 2026