UNDERSTANDING THE SILK ROAD TRAVELLER

TRAVELLING ALONG THE SILK ROAD • • • • • •

Different speeds Who are they – the Silk Road travellers? New opportunities and chances New risks New tasks Partners – come together!

During the last 5 years we were witnessing different performances of tourism development in the Silk Road countries. What does success depend on?

DIFFERENT SPEEDS

Growing & not growing Growing tourism industry • China (inbound tourism = basis of incoming tourism, huge state investments) • Turkey (low prices, good service, mainstream tourism) • Kyrgyzstan (since 2012 no more visas needed for quite big number of countries!) • Uzbekistan (restored ancient cities, good service, well trained stuff) • Turkmenistan (new beach resort)

Non-growing tourism • Iran (political reasons) • Afghanistan (political reasons) • Tadjikistan (political reasons – summer 2012) • Kazakhstan (growing business tourism, but non-growing inbound and incoming vacation tourism: increased prices, same low service, lack of qualified stuff, visa rules change quite often, especially bad changes in 2011)

We have to learn more about them, if we plan to increase their number and ensure stability of travelling the New Silk Road. Who are the Silk Road Travellers today - and who could be focused for additional target groups in the future?

WHO ARE THEY – THE SILK ROAD TRAVELLERS?

Actually our Silk Road traveller is not a mainstream traveller. He is very special.

Culture is more important for him than comfort. He travels to meet other people.

Silk Road travellers are well educated and quite prosperous.

Most of them are older than 40-50, 50% retired. They are curious and travel with an open mind.

They are not angry and always looking for some adventure.

They are patient & tolerant (waiting for visas, smiling about bad roads and poor services)

Our Silk Road travellers are … • • • •

searching for legends, but they need truth, looking for adventures, but they need safety, quite active, but they need pretty places to relax, love authentic and colorful impressions, but prefer simple services, • “collecting” different cultures, various landscapes & countries, but they are interested in some kind of “one-step-agency” for easy going in planning, organizing and providing the trip, • asking for both: excitement and comfort.

Our Silk Road tourists are modern nomads, they are not very capricious. Most of them are patient and tolerant. This is the result of some kind of “selection”. People simply looking for vacation, fun, relaxation, don´t choose the Silk Road yet. But we could get more tourists for the Silk Road, if we would improve some important things.

We could increase their number, if … • the political situation in the Silk Road countries would be stable, • the visa would be unified ore cancelled and crossing the borders would be easier, • other bureaucratic obstacles would be terminated, • the roads and railroads would be in better conditions, • there were more direct and cheaper flights, • the prices in some of the Silk Road countries would be in a better relation to the quality of service,

• the information would be more complete and objective, • there was an independent certification system for making the tourists trust to the information – the key words are TRUTH & TRUST. • there would be more cooperation between the countries and tour operators, • there was ONE SILK ROAD, not dozens with lots of obstacles between them!

In the next few years we will see a lot of new opportunities in the Silk Road countries: New travel corridors, new events (EXPO 2017 in Astana), open Afghanistan … We have to turn this opportunities in real chances and success.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND CHANCES

In 2014 the NATO forces will leave Afghanistan. This will be a fate moment for the entire Silk Road. This step is both – a risk and a chance. Open Afghanistan with peaceful development will guarantee stability in the whole region and will increase the number of tourists as well. Any instability in and around Afghanistan will seriously disturb tourism along the Silk Road.

NEW RISKS

Other risks • Dangerous moments for stability BETWEEN the countries: - climate chance, glacier melting and increasing trans-border water problems, - drug traffic

• Dangerous moments for stability IN the countries: - increasing social polarization in China and the ”STANs”, - increasing political pressure and nepotism, - tribal conflicts and ethnic problems

The main task for developing tourism along the Silk Road is the same like 5 years ago: Simplify the process of travelling. Turn almost 30 countries into ONE SILK ROAD. Make peace through tourism. Tour operators should become pioneers and come together for cooperation between the countries. This would make trust for each other, the politicians and the tourists, too.

NEW TASKS

Main tasks • A good idea could be the cancellation of visa for tourists, travelling with registered tour operators, and the implementation of one Silk Road Visa for individual travellers. • Offer a bigger variety of products: Combined culture and nature tours, combined business travel with weekend trips, travel to the people – live with the people, learning tours (language, handicrafts), provide more cultural events, festivals along the Silk Road – and talk about it! • What about a common Silk Road Tourism University? • Implementation of a Silk Road Certification System.

Example of successful product development & enlarging target groups People travel (Uzbekistan) works fully „client orientated“: - different languages - offer complete services, - very flexible - modern logo, very good website with complete information, modern advertisement - mixed groups, gathering travellers for tours with fixed dates - cheap prices – young target groups - direct connection (skype) - sustainability is important (rent a bicycle) - good mix of business tourism, event tourism, cultural, active and adventure tourism - offer tours in the other STANs

Tour operators have to teach their governments. Don´t be jealous. Don´t try to win the battle for tourists alone. A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Cooperation is the only way to enhance tourism along the Silk Road.

PARTNERS – COME TOGETHER!

Cooperation for more tourists • A round table of 20 tour operators and politicians from the STANs in November 2012 in Almaty demonstrated: Cooperation is possible and fruitful. • First real steps could be: - а common information platform for tourists (open website or blog) - а common international certification system for making trust for the travellers - regular meetings of all interested stakeholders during international exhibitions and fairs - peer group of tour operators as think tank for decision makers

Look at yourself with the eyes of your guests. Tourism is not only business. It is a mission. The Silk Road travellers are no tourists. They are your guests. They travel not to Turkey, the Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, China – the travel along the Silk Road. They are keen to learn as much as possible about this eternal transit way from the East to the West and the West to the East. They are looking for the middle of themselves, searching for the cultural roots of the mankind. They are looking for slow motion, for downshifting. They are ambassadors of peace. They want to get inspired. By you.

Come and feel it: boundless travel, boundless hospitality.

Dagmar Schreiber * [email protected] Kazakhstan Tourism Association * Ecotourism Resource and Information Centre