3. Overview
The Stans - “stans” means land
Formerly known as Soviet Central Asia
Part of the USSR – except Afghanistan
Population
Largely Muslim with minority Russian population (in
attempts to Russify the region)
Geography
High mountainous region
Lower flat plains
4. History
Historical ties to the Arab and Ottoman empires
Islamic
Genghis Khan - unified the area in 1200’s
Trading corridor
Silk Road
Many buildings from the era still standing and are
attractions
European influence
Russian colonization 1400 – 1900 – brought language
and cultural traditions
USSR - 1917 - 1991
CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States
5. 1990’s – today – After
Independence
Economic and political instability after
independence
Politically sensitive areas - Civil Wars, terrorist
cells
Ethnic tensions with ethnic Russians
Poorly developed infrastructure
Kyrgyzstan is presently the most stable
6. Tourism Today
Moscow to Beijing Railway
Cultural Tourism
Religious sites
Traditional cultures
Adventure Tourism – rock climbing,
mountaineering, river sports
Winter Tourism
Skiing, trekking
Silk Road Tourism
8. Tourism Today
Problems for development
Not much potential for mass tourism – perhaps niche
tourism though?
Corruption, bribes standard, totalitarian governments
Transportation issues
Getting there – no direct flights to the region for the
most part
Getting around - poor road conditions, links to other
destinations, some of the most dangerous roads in
the world
Image issues - case of Kazakhstan (see textbook
highlight on the movie Borat) and negative reports
from tourists
Visa and entry issues
9. Tourism Today
Problems for development
Lack of modern accommodations
Entrance fees higher for tourists
Language Barriers
Relatively few speakers of other languages
Languages spoken are difficult not widely taught
(Persian related though for some countries)
Lack of qualified tourism service providers
Source markets for tourism
VFR - so spend less money overall
From former Soviet Republics
Difficult to compete with most other destinations outside
the region
10. Case Study - Afghanistan
Well developed tourism in the 1960’s and 1970’s
90,000 tourists each year
Many cultural attractions, Buddhist cultural sites, ancient
cities, mountain trekking
Hippie Trail - came to an end 1978/79 with Islamic
Revolution in Iran and Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
1978 - Communist Party take over
Results in 10 year war with USSR
“Never get involved in a land war in Asia”
Afghanistan in disarray after USSR withdrawal
Paved way for current instability
11. Afghanistan
Today
Expanding investment in tourism
New Ministry of Tourism - to promote tourism
Current poor relations with US as a result of alleged
harboring of Bin Laden