Cohen’s alter-ego was once most certainly a persona non grata in Kazakhstan, but today he’s credited for giving a welcome shot in the arm to the former Soviet republic’s tourism industry.
“After this film, the number of visas issued to Kazakhstan grew by 10 times,” the nation’s foreign minister said in a recent address to parliament. “This is a big victory for us, and I thank Borat for attracting tourists.”
So how does Kazakhstan keep the tourist traffic flowing?
Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov, the English-speaking minister of tourism and sports -- he doubles as the president of the Olympic committee -- is leading an effort to build ski resorts in various parts of the country, at least some of which would be four-season destinations with golf courses. The biggest one, according to Eturbo News, would be built at Kok-Zhaylyao, within an hour’s drive south of the nation’s largest city, Almaty.
A tourism development program will be finalized by the end of the year, the idea being to eventually market Kazakhstan as “the land of tourism resorts.”
As is so often the case, it seems that he who laughs last laughs best.
The original version of the preceding post appeared in the June 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
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