Central Asia Parks Expand
- Countries in Central Asia are expanding national parks to attract adventure and nature tourism. - Reports highlight new protected areas aimed at trekking, wildlife viewing and rugged expeditions. - The expansions open more remote routes and multi-day options for globe-trotting outdoor travelers. (x.com)
Kazakhstan has put park expansion at the center of its tourism pitch, with a new biodiversity plan that adds protected land through 2035. (euronews.com) The plan raises Kazakhstan’s protected territory from 31 million hectares to 33.2 million hectares by 2035, an increase of about 20,000 square kilometers. The government tied the March 2026 policy to conservation, forest restoration and tourism infrastructure such as trails, visitor centers and signage. (undp.org) Kazakhstan’s tourism statistics show 4,482 accommodation sites and 10.087 million served visitors in January-December 2025, giving officials a larger base to push nature travel beyond cities and resort zones. The state tourism portal already markets ecotourism, mountain routes and horseback trips as growth areas. (stat.gov.kz; gov.kz) Kyrgyzstan is moving on the same track. Its Ministry of Natural Resources said protected areas drew 271,254 visitors in 2025, up nearly 24%, while tourism revenue in those areas rose to 37.7 million som from 18.3 million som a year earlier. (open.kg) Those numbers help explain why Central Asian governments are pairing conservation with access. In Kazakhstan, the new concept also targets forest expansion from 13.9 million to 14.7 million hectares, while officials say upgraded trails and navigation will steer more visitors into mountain and lake regions. (english.news.cn; euronews.com) The travel sell is straightforward: more mapped routes, more multi-day trekking and more wildlife watching in places that still feel remote. Kazakhstan’s tourism messaging leans on alpine landscapes, steppes and reserves, while Kyrgyzstan’s growth has been driven mostly by domestic travelers, with foreign demand still described as stable rather than dominant. (gov.kz; tvbrics.com) Officials are also framing the park push as part of international conservation commitments, not only a tourism campaign. Kazakhstan’s 2026-2035 concept was presented as part of its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. (undp.org) That leaves Central Asia trying to do two things at once: lock in more land for protection and make more of it visitable. If the new trails, signage and park boundaries arrive on schedule, the region will have more legal protected space and more long-distance routes to sell to hikers by 2035. (euronews.com; biofin.org)
