Foreign exchange specialist Travelex is looking to order more than half a million pounds worth of Kazakhstani currency to meet a surge in demand from British travellers.

According to the foreign currency retailer requests for Kazakhstani currency are up 1000 per cent as a growing number of tourists consider a trip to the country in the wake of publicity generated by Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat and the film released this week Borat: Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Travelex is ordering the Tenge, to go on sale at selected airport outlets around the UK.

Last year Travelex received only one request for the currency but in the last week more than 1,000 enquiries have been made through their site and over the counter. This demand is expected to increase while the film plays at cinemas nationwide.

John Nicholas, Regional Divisional Director - UK Retail at Travelex commented: “We have seen a mini boom in demand for this currency and it must be down to Borat. Although Sacha Baron Cohen’s character has had a mixed reception in Kazakhstan, perhaps an increase in tourism will be a beneficial effect of the film that will have even the harshest critics smiling. The Tenge has risen to fame along with Borat and to be honest it took us a bit by surprise but we are ready to give travellers the currency they need for a trip to Kazakhstan.”

It’s not just foreign exchange specialist Travelex that is experiencing a rapid rise in interest, travel agents and search companies including lastminute.com, Responsible Travel and SideStep. John Bevan, Travel Director, lastminute.com comments:

“We have seen a considerable increase in the number of searches on lastminute.com for flights to Kazakhastani. The new Borat film has obviously captured the interest of the public as people are looking to find out a little more about this famous destination for a potential holiday”.

Kevin Eyres, Managing Director, SideStep UK, says 'Flights to Kazakhstan are not one of our most popular searches so when we started to notice them coming up more frequently, it stuck out a mile. We're not sure trips to Borat's homeland will become a long term trend but we were amused to see the influence films can have on our lives! Current flights to the capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana, start at £528 return.’

The current exchange rate is 243 Kazakhstan Tenge to the pound. Notes are in denominations of KZT10,000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 3 and 1. Coins are in denominations of KZT100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1, and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 tiyn.

Anyone wishing to head to Kazakhstan can get there on Air Astana which flies to several different Kazakhstan destinations, British Airways or KLM which fly several times a week between Heathrow and Schiphol. Tourists can expect to eat plenty of meat, potatoes, rice and pasta, some of the local specialities are:

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