Additional opportunities for tourism development are indicated

On March 29, under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a video conference on improving the tourism potential of our country was held.

Tourism is a multifaceted industry that has both economic and socio-cultural significance. This sector is the third most profitable in the world. Another important aspect is that it allows you to create more jobs at a lower cost.

This sphere is consistently developing in our country. In particular, the number of foreign tourists who visited our country in 2022 increased by 3 times compared to 2021. The industry's exports amounted to $1 billion 600 million. More than 11 million people have traveled as part of domestic tourism programs. As a result of the creation of a new tourist center in Samarkand, the city has an opportunity to attract an additional 2 million tourists to the city.

The tourism potential of our country is far from being exhausted. There are many who wish to visit Uzbekistan. However, there is little content about places that may interest tourists, there are not enough offers that can encourage tourists to stay in our country for 4-5 days. There are problems with buying plane and train tickets several months in advance.

At the meeting, such problems that hinder the development of the industry were critically analyzed. Important measures have been identified.

The airport is the gateway to Uzbekistan for visitors from abroad. In recent years, 5 new private airlines have been created, the domestic fleet has increased to 44 aircraft. Last year, the number of weekly flights increased from 46 to 78, and the number of passengers - from 6.5 thousand to 10 thousand people.

However, the shortage of domestic flights to Nukus and Urgench is 20, to Samarkand - 15, to Bukhara and Termez - 11 flights per week. There is also a need for 68 railway flights and 350 new wagons. There are not enough buses for tourists in Karakalpakstan, Jizzakh, Namangan and Surkhandarya region.

In this regard, an instruction was given to purchase 20 more modern aircraft by the end of the year and increase air transportation. It was noted that the total number of domestic flights will be doubled to 100 per week, and part of the cost of air tickets for some routes will be subsidized.

This year, 8 electric trains will also be purchased. Tour operators, hotels and carriers will receive customs privileges when importing vehicles with 10 or more seats. Tourist buses will be allowed to travel through the Kamchyk and Jizzakh passes, along Chimgan and Charvak.

Another important factor in tourism is the availability of accommodation. Due to the creation of ample opportunities, the number of hotel beds has doubled over the past five years, reaching 60 thousand.

The Head of State stressed the need to attract foreign consulting companies, bring conditions in hotels to the level of international standards, allocate additional credit resources for them.

The meeting also discussed the content of tourist programs. It was emphasized that every extra day that tourists spend in Uzbekistan increases the annual export of tourism by $ 300 million.

For example, foreign tourists visit Khorezm 2 times less often than Bukhara and Samarkand. However, Khorezm has every opportunity for tourists to stay in the region for 3-4 days.

Or last year, 31 districts and 143 mahallas were specialized in tourism, a special tax regime was introduced in them. About 4 thousand enterprises took advantage of these benefits, their turnover increased by 1.5 times.

There are not enough interesting programs and promotions to further increase the duration of tourists' stay. Therefore, it was decided at the meeting that 11 higher educational institutions will help strengthen these two areas of the industry's work. They will collect information and create content about the history, monuments and attractions of 31 districts and 143 tourist mahallas. On this basis, travel packages in 12 languages will be developed. Employees of tourism and service facilities will be trained at universities.

The responsible persons are tasked with organizing tourist clusters that unite hotels, cultural, natural, ethno- and gastronomic tourism facilities, as well as the introduction of a certificate of hospitality.

Tourist programs in our country are mainly designed for April-May and September-October. But there are enough opportunities to extend the tourist season.

For example, the tourist season can be two months longer if you organize the infrastructure for ski tourism in the Tashkent and Jizzakh regions, and in summer – bathing areas in other regions. In summer, you can take advantage of the opportunities of 22 nature reserves, 24 national nature parks and natural monuments.

It was instructed to develop, using these resources, projects for the summer and winter seasons, organize interesting festivals and cultural events during the off-season.

In addition, there are more than 8 thousand cultural heritage sites and 122 museums in our country. The expediency of conducting lessons in such subjects as literature, history, geography, fine arts in these places was noted.

This year, our country will host a session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization. Samarkand will become the capital of world tourism in 2023.

The Head of our State stressed that this year should be the year of promoting the rich cultural and tourist potential of our country abroad.

For this purpose, 100 billion soums have been allocated to attract tourists through marketing and advertising. The importance of developing a "Business card of Uzbekistan", updating the tourist brand, increasing advertising about Uzbekistan on international TV channels and Internet sites was noted.

In general, it was emphasized at the meeting, this year there is an opportunity to attract 7 million foreign and 15 million domestic tourists, increase the export of the industry to $ 2.5 billion.

Ministers and khokims, entrepreneurs expressed their opinions and suggestions on the issues discussed.