Although Kyrgyzstan’s mountains and lakes are an attractive tourist destination, the tourism industry has grown very slowly because it has received little investment.[1] In the early 2000s, an average of about 450,000 tourists visited annually, mainly from countries of the former Soviet Union.[1] In 2018, the British Backpacker Society ranked Kyrgyzstan as the fifth best adventure travel destination on earth, stating that the country was an adventure travel secret that is "bound to get out soon."[2]
Lake Issyk-Kul and the Tian Shan mountains are relatively popular tourist destinations .