Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/27/kazakhstan-adopts-borat-catchphrase-as-new-tourism-slogan-very-nice.html
…
4 Likes
Very smart.
7 Likes
Love it.
1 Like
Heh, NZ probably probably made bank on LoTR tourists
5 Likes
This is late in coming. Like that day, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” There are exceptions, of course, but this was one that should have capitalized on 14 years ago.
1 Like
The old leader resigned in 2019 after 28 years of rule. The new guy seems to want to do things his own way.
7 Likes
I’d like to think that nobody thinks that the version of Kazakhstan shown in the film is real because it’s very clearly a pastiche of American’s preconceived notions about middle eastern countries, but then I read reviews for it where people are seriously butthurt because they don’t think the film is an accurate representation of Kazak culture.
1 Like
I know nothing about the country but i saw the video yesterday and it does indeed look beautiful. I’m glad they have a sense of humor about the movie now, from what i read they were initially pretty opposed to the first film but when tourism numbers went up they embraced it. More power to them 
1 Like
Screw Kazakhstan. Countries like this should be international pariahs and people with a conscience should think twice about posting cutesy stories about it related to Borat.
From Freedom House :
Parliamentary and presidential elections are neither free nor fair, and major parties exhibit continued political loyalty to the government. The authorities have consistently marginalized or imprisoned genuine opposition figures. The dominant media outlets are either in state hands or owned by government-friendly businessmen. Freedoms of speech and assembly remain restricted, and corruption is endemic.
Apparently it is not the worst country in Central Asia according to Freedom House, but still, do not give your tourist money to Kazakhstan.
2 Likes
Cohen said in a statement, "This is a comedy, and the Kazakhstan in the film has nothing to do with the real country. I chose Kazakhstan because it was a place that almost nobody in the U.S. knew anything about, which allowed us to create a wild, comedic, fake world.
Which, by the way, is a dick move Mr. Cohen. There’s a long tradition of making up fake countries in order to create a comedic hook. You didn’t need to manufacture a new prejudice that will probably last for decades, depending on how enduring your comedy ends up being.
8 Likes
Yet plenty of people do (or did) give their tourist money to China.
1 Like
What’s your point?
Firstly that tourist money benefits normal people, not just the government.
Secondly that lots of countries have poor governance so are we not going to travel there too?
1 Like
As someone who lived 6.5 years in Kazakhstan, there are most definitely some very beautiful and interesting places to go. The steppes in spring are an endless ocean of wildflowers, and a starkly beautiful grim snowscape in winter (if that is your thing). The mountains to the southeast are beautiful, some great hiking and skiing, and there used to be tours to go to the glacier that is the base camp of the Khan Tengri, the tallest mountain in Kazakhtan (and one of the mountains that Kazakhstanis use to practice summiting Everest. I took a balloon ride through the Charyn canyon, with a picnic at the end of the ride, which was nice.
I knew some archaelogists, who invited me to rappel into a cave-dome with a lake in it that was used for prehistoric religious rites thousands of years ago. There are a lot of other beautiful cultural and historic sites as well. Nauryz, the spring celebration is spectacular depending on where it is held, as is Maslonitsa, a Russian celebration in February. There are (were) several other cultural celebrations which are fun to attend, but not necessarily international tourism draws.
I got conscripted to help put out a forest fire in the ribbon forest along the Irtysh river, and I lived through an actual plague of locusts one year. They’ll start eating each other, eating cattle, eating you once the plants run out.
And Kazakhstan has its share of human rights abuses, corruption, environmental disasters and lack of democratic norms. But not necessarily worse than I saw and experienced in Africa and Asia, and that exists in just about any developing nation, and even in a certain developed nation currently in the last week of a presidential election.
One of the weirdest human rights abuses to me was the persecution of the Tolkien-ists – people who would dress up as LOTR characters to go LARPing in the woods and mountains around Almaty. Among the saddest were the schools in Ust-Kamenogorsk that were built during Soviet times out of concrete that used uranium tailings instead of sand.
As far as tourism goes, one of the biggest drawbacks to Kazakhstan is it is so bloody far away. It will take almost 4 days round trip travel to get there, and its tourism sector, was at the time I lived there underdeveloped because of this. Too many places are closer and have nicer amenities, so unless you are really into adventure tourism, or have a few weeks to burn, it isn’t high on the destination list.
(Edit for clarity; 2nd edit to add Nauryz and Maslonitsa)
8 Likes
Well first of all I take issue with your phrase “poor governance” because what I’m talking about are aspects of authoritarian rule, and I do not think “poor governance” conveys that sentiment.
But to give you an answer, yes I do not think you should visit anywhere as a tourist that has a poor human rights record or where they repress their population, including China. Among other things, China is unlawfully occupying Tibet and repressing the population there, a subject that people have apparently forgotten about, and is putting its ethnic Muslim population in concentration camps. Screw China too and don’t give them your tourist money. That’s my view at least.
2 Likes
Well fair enough. Its a valid, albeit restrictive position to take. Under those rules I would never visit the USA, however much I would like to see the Smithsonian.
4 Likes
Yikes. It’s a roundtrip just to get there?? 
3 Likes
Kazakhstan was within me all along.
1 Like
Uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Pulling the airplane behind you with your teeth. 
3 Likes
Say what?
