BISHKEK (TCA) — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is hosting ten popular international travel bloggers from August 8-18 to promote tourism in Central Asia.
Supported by the USAID Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs Activity in Central Asia, two concurrent travel tours to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan-Tajikistan will highlight the region’s tourism opportunities. During the trip, the public can follow bloggers’ posts using the #TravelCentralAsia hashtag or on the bloggers’ social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The travel bloggers, focusing on a wide range of niche tourism markets from adventure and cultural travel to independent and offbeat destinations, are visiting such popular Central Asian tourist sites as Samarkand, Charyn Canyon, Karakol, the Fann Mountains, and more.
Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy mountain trekking, horse riding, yurt stays, and cultural tourism, and share impressions about visiting Central Asia with their international readership.
The U.S. Government through USAID supports the development of tourism in Central Asia as a sector of the economy with high growth potential. USAID works with local tourism organizations and has trained local guesthouses to use Booking.com services, promoted Central Asia in international tourism fairs, helped to improve hotel and tour guide services, and facilitated developing new tourism products.
The bloggers attending, and the websites they represent, are as follows.
Traveling to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to visit Tashkent, Samarkand, Panjakent, the Fann Mountains, and Dushanbe are:
– Cynthia Bil – Journal of Nomads
– Alesha Bradford – NOMADasaurus
– Shivya Nath – The Shooting Star
– Alex Reynolds – Lost With Purpose
– Michael Turtle – Time Travel Turtle
Traveling to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to visit Almaty, Charyn Canyon, Kol-Sai Lakes, Karakol, Issyk-Kul, and Bishkek are:
– Fabio Nodari – Fabio Nodari Photo
– Jennifer Ruiz – Jen on a Jet Plane
– Nicole Smoot – Adventures of Lil’ Nicki
– Valerie Stimac – Valerie & Valise and Space Tourism Guide
– Shaolin Tran – We Travel the World