Almaty, Kazakhstan, 9 August 2019 – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is hosting ten popular international travel bloggers from 8-18 August 2019 to promote tourism in Central Asia.
Supported by USAID’s Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs Activity in Central Asia, two concurrent trips to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan-Tajikistan will highlight the region’s tourism opportunities. Before and during the trip, the public can follow the bloggers’ posts using the hashtag #TravelCentralAsia or on the bloggers’ social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The travel bloggers, who focus on a wide range of niche tourism markets from adventure and cultural travel to independent and offbeat destinations, will visit popular Central Asian tourist sites such as Samarkand, Charyn Canyon, Karakol, the Fann Mountains and more.
Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy mountain trekking, horseback riding, yurt stays and cultural tourism, and share their impressions of visiting Central Asia with their international readership.
The U.S. government, through USAID, supports the development of tourism in Central Asia as an economic sector with high growth potential. USAID works with local tourism organisations and has trained local guesthouses to use Booking.com services, promoted Central Asia at international tourism fairs, helped improve hotel and tour guide services, and facilitated the development of new tourism products.
The participating bloggers and the websites they represent are as follows:Travelling in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan
to visit Tashkent, Samarkand, Panjakent, the Fann Mountains and Dushanbe:
1.Cynthia Bil – Journal of Nomads
2.Alesha Bradford – NOMADasaurus
3.Shivya Nath – The Shooting Star
4.Alex Reynolds – Lost with Purpose
5.Michael Turtle – Time Travelling Turtle
6.Journey to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
to visit Almaty, the Charyn Canyon, the Kol-Sai Lakes, Karakol, Issyk-Kol and Bishkek:
1.Fabio Nodari – Fabio Nodari Photo
2.Jennifer Ruiz – Jen on a jet plane
3.Nicole Smoot – Adventures of Lil’ Nicki
4.Valerie Stimac – Valerie & Valise and Space Tourism Guide
5.Shaolin Tran – We travel the world