On September 11, a round table on tourism policy brought together representatives of this field from the countries of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea, as well as diplomats from a number of states, via video link.

During the online event, presentations on the development of the tourism industry in the countries of Central Asia were heard, and a general thematic discussion took place. Lee Chong Kuk, executive director of the Secretariat of the Forum for Cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Central Asia at the Korean Foundation, spoke on behalf of the Korean side.

The round table participants discussed trends in the development of the tourism industry, exchanged best practices for reviving tourism in the post-Covid period in the Republic of Korea and the countries of Central Asia.

The importance of studying successful practices and “smart tourism” was noted. Particular attention was paid to the potential for cooperation in the field of tourism and personnel training issues. In particular, the topic of training guides and translators with knowledge of the Korean language was touched upon. Also, in order to increase tourist flows, the need to open direct flights between the Republic of Korea and Central Asian countries was noted.

Gulshat Bakiyeva, Deputy Head of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, made a presentation of the tourism potential of Turkmenistan via video link. At the initiative of the employees of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in the Republic of Korea participating in the event, a video was shown about the tourism opportunities of the country.