Baku, Azerbaijan, April 2
By Fakhri Vakilov – Trend:
Bukhara region of Uzbekistan is planning to double the flow of foreign tourists by 2021 and the income from the tourism industry up to $350 million, Trend reports with reference to the press service of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The head of state set the corresponding tasks during his working visit to the region.
Speaking at a meeting with the participation of a regional asset, the president said that it was necessary to build new hotels and improve infrastructure (in particular, roads). This year, Bukhara-Palace, Varakhsha and Zarafshon hotels will be reconstructed in Bukhara, while 32 new hotels, 9 motels and 50 guest houses have been commissioned. As a result, capability of the region to receive tourists will be doubled.
The president also instructed to turn Bukhara into a “tourist crossroads” by increasing the number of flights and running trains and buses between Bukhara and Samarkand, Khiva and Shahrisabz.
Other assignments concerned the construction of a museum of history, entertainment facilities, handicraft centers and the organization of pedestrian zones in the old part of Bukhara.
The concept of tourism development in the region, introduced in 2018, also included the construction of parks, the purchase of new transport to serve visitors, the provision of cultural facilities for rent to entrepreneurs, the organization of balloon travel, and the development of rural tourism in some areas.
Uzbekistan has been actively campaigning to attract tourists and develop this sector. Among other things, the tourists were allowed to take photographs without restrictions, they were introduced online registration, got electronic visas, registered guest houses. The authorities have also significantly expanded the list of countries whose citizens can visit Uzbekistan without visas. Work in the tourism business is one of the highest paid in the country.
At the beginning of 2019, Uzbekistan adopted the concept of tourism development until 2025. Among other things, the government plans to increase the sector’s share in GDP from 2.3 percent (figures for 2017) to 5 percent. The number of foreign tourists is up to 9 million. Last year, Uzbekistan was visited by about 5.3 million foreign citizens, although only a few 100,000 of them indicated tourism as the official purpose of the trip.
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