Assessment of the Tourism Potential of the Mountain Ecosystems of Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

The relevance of the work lies in its relation to the sustainability of mountain ecosystems of Kyrgyzstan in the context of growing tourist activity. The study area belongs to mountain ecosystems, which are highly sensitive to anthropogenic loads, and with the increase in this impact, the main tourism resources can be lost. The main objective of the work is to create a scientific basis for sustainable development of the studied region with minimal impact on the natural environment. The sustainability of the underlying surface was analyzed considering altitude, orography, climatic and seasonal changes, terrain slope, and other factors. Dominant plant species characteristic of different altitudinal levels were taken into account. An assessment of the level of degradation of the studied ecosystems was provided, based on field methods, by creating “transects,” which allow the identification of different levels of sustainability under anthropogenic influences. Based on the degree of degradation, the sites were ranked into six degrees of degradation. For this purpose, plant and soil samples were collected to assess the tourist load. To determine the potential for the development of tourist flows, their one-time throughput capacity was calculated, based on the total number in a specific area. Measures were proposed to regulate the flow of vacationers throughout the mountainous region. For these purposes, the maximum number of tourists per daily flow was determined. A methodology was developed for assessing mountain tourist zones, which is important for further regulation of the flow of vacationers, and will allow for the sustainable development of these zones in the future.