”We are entering the stage of active tourism development”

Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development Aziz Abdukhakimov in an interview to www.norma.uz announced the implementation of two major programs in the field of tourism development. One of them will be aimed at increasing foreign tourists in the country, the other - to intensify domestic tourism. 


Welcome to Uzbekistan! 

To increase the flow of foreign tourists coming to the country, it is planned to adopt a program of 31 paragraphs, each of which is one of the ways to attract the attention of foreigners to our country, to make them want to visit Uzbekistan. 

To this end, we plan to introduce an appropriate standard, according to which the packaging of all products exported will contain advertising for the country's tourism brand. "At the same time PR campaign will be targeted to attract more attention. The way to the hearts of the Chinese will lie through stories about Ferghana heavenly horses, the Turks - about the native land of their ancestors, the Japanese - about the Buddhist monuments, the inhabitants of the European part of Russia - about the region with tasty and juicy vegetables and fruits, and to the inhabitants of Muslim countries we offer a pilgrimage to our holy places. Many countries have their own associations with the territory of Uzbekistan, that's what our multilateral campaign will be built on," Aziz Abdukhakimov said. 

Attracting tourists will be one of the activities of diplomatic missions of our country. Moreover, the Institute of Tourism Ambassadors will be introduced. Famous foreign individuals will help to promote our tourist brand abroad. 

"We intend to make visiting of Uzbekistan for foreigners comfortable," Aziz Abdukhakimov said. - To this end, a set of measures was developed to abolish the visa regime, as well as to introduce a simplified visa regime for 45 countries, and during 2018 it is planned to launch a system for obtaining electronic visas. 

It is planned to develop and implement a mechanism for the provision of short-term visas (up to 72 hours), while ensuring the availability of a ticket and visa 
(if necessary) to a third country and payment of consular fees. We plan to develop rules for the short-term controlled (accompanied) exit of foreign transit passengers outside the border zone of the airport for a familiarization tour. This norm will help increase the number of tourists traveling across the country in transit. 

For the convenience of travelers traveling at airports and railway stations, there will be points for the implementation of SIM cards, mobile Internet modems, city tours, taxi order, tickets for cultural and entertainment events, as well as special stands with maps and other necessary materials. Here you can find information about the dislocation of tourist sites, local tour operators, hotels, cafes, restaurants. 

In addition, it is planned to implement a project to install convenient signs on the streets of tourist centers. 


Traveling around the country 

Speaking about the development of domestic tourism, Abdukhakimov reminded that in addition to the New Year holidays, Uzbek citizens will have vacations on "Navruz" and Independence Day. Three-day - scheduled on Kurban Hayit and Ruza Hayit religious holidays. "These norms are introduced so that our compatriots have time for tourist trips. The practice of providing discounts on air and railway tickets, as well as in hotels, cafes, restaurants will be continued these days," the head of the State Committee for Tourism Development said. 

The implementation of the program for the development of domestic tourism "Uzbekiston Buylab Sayohat Qil!" has been launched. This is an unprecedented set of events. The program is aimed at creating conditions for people of all age categories. With large organizations, structural units are established to organize excursions and tours, or own travel agencies. For example, the Youth Union initiated the creation of the "Yoshlar tourism agentligi" travel agency, the "Kasaba sayr" travel agency operates under the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions, the "Nafis Sayohat" travel agency is created under the Women's Committee, the "Sayohat Nuroniy" - under the "Nuroniy" Fund, "Mahalla sayr" - under “Mahalla” Fund etc. 

- One of the problems hampering the development of domestic tourism is the lack of information about tourist sites. In addition to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, there are several other places that can be visited. Therefore, we form the passports of all tourist sites, create an Internet portal "Tourist resources of Uzbekistan", the head of the tourism administration of Uzbekistan emphasized. 

An important component of the program will be the introduction of a whole range of tax benefits for citizens who make tourist trips, it is planned to encourage employers organizing trips of their employees. 

Source: ut.uz