Stephen Lioy is a American media and tourism development expert based in Kyrgyzstan. His work has appeared in guidebooks for internationally-renown brand Lonely Planet products from Kyrgyzstan, China, Eritrea, Tibet, and others; he is also regularly published as a travel writer and photographer for a number of print and online travel publications including BBC Travel, World Nomads, Aramco WORLD Magazine, and more. In addition, Stephen publishes irregularly on his own channels at Asia-Hikes, StephenLioy.com, and MonkBoughtLunch. Stephen’s work as a professional in tourism development in Central Asia for USAID and Helvetas has promoted the region’s thriving tourism industry to millions of viewers across the world, established extensive new trekking routes across Kyrgyzstan, and developed new tourism products to support the flourishing winter tourism sector in Northern Kyrgyzstan