This is my last post from Kyrgyzstan, and I really just wanted to get some thoughts on paper/web.  I think reflection is such an important thing to do, and I’m often so busy that I don’t have time to do it.  It’s now a month since I left Kyrgyzstan, and I’ve spent a day looking back on the trip and thinking about the country, and my experience.  I thought I’d sort them in a blog post. On Pre-Conceived Stereotypes I think it’s so hard to not think in stereotypes.  And, I think the idea of stereotypes is so often correlated with racism.  But, it’s really not.  I worried a lot during my stay in Kyrgyzstan that my pre-conceived ideas of the country made me a bit of a western-snob.  However, when I came home to Canada and thought of the stereotypes that others must imagine before coming to the country, I realized that it’s totally normal to imagine the stereotypes of the country to be a reality.  In fact, it’s so often what our tourism boards promote.  It’s no wonder that people think Canadians ride in dog sleds, live in igloos, and have bears in their backyard; that’s what we promote. I thought Kyrgyzstan was going to be wilder, more nomadic, and that everyone would be getting around on horseback.  Essentially, I thought Kyrgyzstan was going to be Mongolia.  And while it was free and wild, it was totally different, more developed, and more urban than I expected.  But, based on all the imagery of eagle hunters, nomads, and wild horses in the back country, it’s easy to assume that’s all there is in the country. But, there’s so much more. And that’s definitely not a bad thing. On Tourism in Kyrgyzstan The idea of tourism in Kyrgyzstan is interesting to me.  When I go on these projects that are meant to promote tourism to a destination, I’m always left wondering “but is it REALLY a viable tourism destination? Will people REALLY want to come here?”.  And, I think the answer is yes. But, there are some challenges for sure. One of the things I always look for in a tourism destination’s draw is does it have something iconic, or unique.  Brazil has Christ the Redeemer, Peru has Machu Picchu, and Cambodia has Angkor Wat, for example.  Iconic locations draw tourism in a massive way.  The growth in visibility of an iconic location can change tourism for an entire country; just look at what Machu Picchu has done for Peru’s tourism. I don’t think Kyrgyzstan has that. But, that doesn’t mean that Kyrgyzstan doesn’t have something unique.  I just think that the draw here is going to be for a very niche type of tourist.  I think it’s going to draw the outdoors types. The type of people who want to hike without seeing other people. The types that really want to get off the radar. And, the irony to that is that if tourism grows, those people will no longer be hiking on unbeaten trails.  I think, though, the draw to Kyrgyzstan is going to be for Europeans who want to escape their over-crowded trails for somewhere much more free, and wild.  And, I think it can become THE destination for that market.  And, it is a big market. In short, tourism has a lot of room to grow in Kyrgyzstan. It has a reason for people to come, and it has capacity to build and expand.  I think that tourism in Kyrgyzstan grows by 500% in the next decade. I think the growth potential is there. But, I also think there may be a ceiling to that...