VISA REGIMES AND REGULATORY DOCUMENTS AS AN OBSTACLE FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 248

visas and permitting movement within the country are much more convo-
luted. Kazakhstan and Tajikistan are somewhere in between these two ex-
tremes. They, too, may be characterized as lacking freedom; nevertheless
their visa policy is much more open for a number of reasons. Kazakhstan
attempts to declare its attractiveness to foreign investors and show the
world that is an open democratic state. Tajikistan sees tourism (and the
corresponding visa policy) as one of its very few options to overcome its
significant isolation.
Because getting a visa is a major obstacle which figures significantly
into decisions of where to travel, the countries of Central Asia significant-
ly reduce tourist inflows by virtue of their visa requirements (Han et al.,
2011). If the sparse nature of the embassy network is taken into account,
which in Europe, for example, provides coverage only for key countries,
the significance of this factor grows even more. For many EU citizens,
obtaining a visa represents additional travel costs for the visa process,
postal charges or fees paid to mediators etc.). Tourists would be willing
to put up with this—the visa stamp becomes an interesting souvenir in the
passport—were it not for further paperwork. But traveling to Central Asia
requires a number of other documents. This is one of the reasons for the
underlying low rate of tourism in the region as a whole, even compared to
authoritarian regimes like Iran.
REGISTRATION PROCESSES AS AN OBSTACLE TO TOURISM IN
CENTRAL ASIA
In addition to visas, tourism in Central Asia is complicated by a number
of other regulatory measures, which do not significantly limit movement
within the country but are often tied to delays and costs (considered un-
necessary by tourists). From the point of view of the purpose they alleg-
edly serve (usually safeguarding tourist and checking them), the measures
are considerably inefficient. But it must be acknowledged that, while the
countries of Central Asia are not willing to do away with the regulations,
in many cases they are willing to approach the issue pragmatically and try
to simplify things to the extent possible. But this does not apply in every
case and persistent inconsistencies in interpreting the law and enforcing it
must also be taken into consideration. This inconsistency of interpretation
and discrepancies in the law form the basis for rampant corruption and