By Park Seo-yeon
Since Uzbekistan's Independence, its tourism industry has been persistently developing. Large-scale reforms that have been carried out by the government resulted in significant changes in tourism infrastructure. New tourism directions have been developed, modern hotels have been built, ancient historical monuments and shrines for pilgrimage have been restored and a number of new highways have been laid out.
Every year, the number of tourists visiting Uzbekistan increases. The interest of foreign guests in the ancient culture, historical and architectural monuments and the unique culture of Uzbekistan, which is one of the most striking countries of Central Asia, grows steadily.
From ancient times, Uzbekistan was the land where extensive monument construction was carried out, crafts and art centers developed and science flourished. At present, the country boasts more than 7,000 historical and architectural monuments; invaluable spiritual heritage of the great ancestors is preserved with care. The main tourist centers of Uzbekistan ― Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Shakhrisabz, which are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, attract millions of foreign tourists annually.
More than 800 enterprises are involved in the development of the country's tourism market. The country's relationship with foreign tourist organizations has been extended and strengthened. In Uzbekistan, the tourism industry is considered an important branch of the economy and one of the promising directions for international cooperation development.
A valuable contribution to the development of the regional tourism market is made by the annual Tashkent International Tourist Fair, which has been held since 1995. This fair is an important international forum in Central Asia and an excellent platform for constructive dialogue between tourism partners.
For centuries, Uzbekistan used to be the main section of the Great Silk Road which left invaluable materials and a spiritual legacy for the whole of humanity. In the international tourism market Uzbekistan is positioned as the central crossroad of the Silk Road. The country plays an active and substantial role in the development of Great Silk Road tourism.
Since 1991, interest in the Silk Road has been revived. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) together with UNESCO put forward the concept of the Great Silk Road revival.
The first WTO meeting dedicated to the issues of Silk Road tourism took place in October 1994 in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The meeting adopted a number of fundamental resolutions on Silk Road tourism development. On Oct. 5, 1994, the representatives of 19 Silk Road countries adopted the symbolic "Samarkand Declaration on Silk Road Tourism."
On Nov. 6, 1998, in Tashkent, at the 155th session of the UNESCO Executive Board on Culture of Peace and UNESCO'S Action in Member States that approved the Tashkent Declaration, developed as a joint initiative of the WTO and UNESCO and proclaiming the start of transition from a culture of war to a culture of peace.
On April 21, 1999, in ancient city of Khiva, at the WTO and UNESCO Seminar on Tourism and Culture was adopted the Khiva Declaration "On Tourism and the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage," which gave full support to the implementation of the international program entitled "Culture, Spirituality and Tourism for a Culture of Peace," and which appealed to all member states of the WTO and UNESCO, as well as to the other international organizations and institutions, to actively participate in the preservation of the world heritage for generations to come.
On Oct. 28, 2002, at WTO's fourth international meeting on the Silk Road, which was held in ancient Bukhara, "The Bukhara Declaration on Silk Road Tourism" was adopted.
At the initiative of Uzbek tourism enterprises, the best tour operating companies of the Silk Road countries integrated into various groups and associations: The Great Silk Road Tour Operators Group, Silk Road Destinations Group, Silk Road Tourism Association and others, which included the tourism enterprises of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and other Silk Road countries.
Along with this, the development of international tourism in the Silk Road region, promotion of the Great Silk Road tourist product in the world market imply coordinated actions of national tourist administrations of the Silk Road countries, solving a range of issues including the program of joint efforts aimed at promotion of multi-destination tourist product "the Great Silk Road" in the world tourism markets, further research on sustainability of tourism in the Silk Road countries, enhancement of contacts between tourism enterprises and tourism experts of the region, etc.
Uzbekistan is in position to continue vigorously stimulating the development of tourism in the Silk Road region and international mutual understanding, to strengthen the position of the country in the international tourism market and to create more opportunity for further development of tourism as a whole and the Silk Road tourism in particular.
The writer is overseas manager of Korea World Travel Fair. Contact the writer at
epost0550@gmail.com.