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Borat's catchphrase 'Very nice!'  is the tagline for Kazakhstan’s tourism campaign

Borat's catchphrase 'Very nice!' is the tagline for Kazakhstan’s tourism campaign

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Kazakhstan has embraced the iconic catchphrase of Borat Sagdiyev, "Very nice!", for its latest tourism campaign. The video shows tourists hiking with a selfie stick, staring at the architecture in awe and posing for photographs with Kazakhs in traditional dress. While engaging in such activities, they all exclaim "Very nice!".

Portrayed by English actor Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat is a fictional character hailing from Kazakhstan who describes his country as homophobic and anti-Semitic. The first movie titled "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", shows Borat travelling to New York City and falling in love with Pamela Anderson's character when he sees an episode of Baywatch. His adventues also include a gay pride parade, and a United Pentecostal camp meeting. Most of the scenes in the initial film released in 2006 were unscripted.

Despite the "less-than-flattering depictions [of Kazakhstan], The Guardian quoted deputy chairman of Kazakh Tourism, Kairat Sadvakassov, and explained that embracing Borat's catchphrase for its new campaign provides "the perfect description" of the country's immense tourism potential in a short and memorable way.

Sadvakassov added that despite Borat's jokes, its people are some of the nicest in the world and it would like everyone to experience Kazakhstan for themselves, The Guardian reported.

According to the New York Times, the campaign's idea came from an American named Dennis Keen who travelled to Kazakhstan on a high school exchange. The latest move by Kazakh Tourism differs from the reaction it initially had to the 2006 Borat film. Following the film's release, the government bought ad space in US papers refuting some of the movie's claims and portrayed Kazakhstan as modern and outward-looking, The Guardian said.

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