AT FIRST it was embarrassed and infuriated by the mockumentary film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

But Kazakhstan could have the last laugh as it prepares to cash in on its first invasion of tourists, many young westerners curious to compare the country so mercilessly lampooned by the British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen with the real thing.

As Baron Cohen faces a series of writs from people claiming that their feelings were expensively hurt by their unwitting exposure in the film, the “Borat bounce” is starting to be felt in the central Asian republic where the fake Kazakh journalist was said to have been born in 1972, the son of Boltak the Rapist.

Last week the American travel company Hotel.Com reported a 300% increase in web searches for accommodation in the capital Astana, although, as the latest Lonely Planet Guide to Central Asia has warned, the fact that hotels take bookings does not mean they exist.

American and British travel agents said there had been a sharp increase in inquiries since the film was released last month. “There are adventurous baby boomers with time and money who see Kazakhstan as the new frontier,” said one.

The Kazakhstan embassy in Washington said it was receiving 100 calls a week seeking advice on how to visit the country, which is portrayed by Borat as a cultural backwater where the age of sexual consent has recently been raised to eight but homosexuals no longer have to wear a blue hat.

“The only fact of the movie is the geographic location of Kazakhstan,” said Roman Vassilenko, press secretary at the Washington embassy, who has ceased to be amused by inquiries about whether it is possible to buy a Kazakh bride for 15 gallons of pesticide.

“I have had to tell many Americans that drinking horse urine is not popular in our country,” he added.

In anticipation of an upturn in visitors, Travelex, the UK-based foreign exchange specialist, has ordered more than £500,000 in tenge, the Kazakhstan currency.

Many travel companies are entering into the Borat spirit. Sayat Tours, of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city and former capital, has launched a “Kazakhstan v Boratstan Tour” to help westerners “engage in the cultural learnings of that unknown glorious nation for their own make benefit”.

With a triumphant “Take that, Borat!”, the company promises to supplant his imagery of lumpen wives and “fourth-best prostitute” sisters with dazzling deserts, unspoilt mountains, and, said Marianna Tolekenova, executive director of the tour company, beautiful women.

One Los Angeles travel agent said: “I have spoken with clients upset that festivals filmed by Borat such as the ‘running of the Jew’ did not exist. We think they may have been ironic . . .”

The Kazakh scenes were actually shot in and around the Romanian village of Glod, which means mud. So, what does Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic that covers an area as large as western Europe, have to offer apart from yurts in hot deserts and freezing mountains? The Singing Sands near Almaty are described by guides as a “miracle of nature” because they sound like a jet aircraft — not necessarily a big draw for a western visitor who has just spent many hours on a real jet.

There is also Penfilov Park, in Almaty, boasting a wooden tower that guides say is the tallest in the world — “or among them, maybe”.

Lonely Planet has been hosting blogs of recent travellers bubbling with advice. Natasha, 24, a Briton who has been visiting China, was told to prepare for a “rest stop” at the border as engineers changed the track gauge on her train on entry to Kazakhstan. “This takes up to 18 hours,” said one veteran.

Additional reporting: Aybek Aytbaev in Astana

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