Borat 2 Inspires Kazakhstan's Tourism Campaign

In what may come as a surprise to Borat fans, the Kazakhstan Tourism department has embraced the phrase 'Very nice' from the film Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan in a bid to promote tourism in the country.

The country wasn't always enamoured of the hilarious yet political shindigs of English actor Sacha Baron Cohen. The first Borat film came out in the year 2006 but the government's reaction was not very positive. The satirical movie narrated (in typical OTT style) the story of a Kazakh reporter named Borat Sagdiyev, played by Cohen. The Kazakh government decided to ban the film because of some dialogues. And its makers had to face several lawsuits.

After the sequel came out this year, the Kazakh tourism ministry decided to turn this around and play with this catchphrase and use it for the country's tourism campaign. 

The deputy chairman of Kazakhstan Tourism said in a press release that the slogan was the  'perfect description' from a tourism point of view. He added that people should experience the country and make up their minds, by visiting after the pandemic is over.

In 2017, the Central Asian country started offering travel visas to citizens of different countries, including the United States. But that programme was temporarily suspended in April, following the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus. 

As part of the newly launched promotional campaign, Kazakhstan Tourism has rolled out four videos to lure visitors. In the videos, tourists can be seen enjoying the country's cuisine, exploring its magnificent landscapes, and shopping around busy markets. One of the campaign videos also describes Kazakhs as extremely friendly peeps. 

With the release of this campaign, the country is trying to give a fresh lease of life to its tourism sector, which has been impacted by the pandemic. Home to some of the world's most enchanting places, including Big Almaty Lake, Shymbulak, Lake Kaindy, and Altyn-Emel National Park, Kazakhstan also draws tourists with the historical city of Semey and its capital city Astana.