American Chamber
of Commerce in Uzbekistan
TOURISM
TOURISMHow can tourism benefit the economy?
What is the potential of tourism in Uzbekistan?
What are the concrete, positive effects of tourism and how can tourism be boosted in the region?
These questions and many more were addressed at the “Tourism and its Economic Impact” seminar held on Tuesday, May 4, within the framework of the Asian Development Bank’s 43rd Annual Meeting in Tashkent. The seminar was sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Uzbekistan and held in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hotel InterContinental.
In his opening remarks, U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Richard Norland said, “We tend to think of tourists mainly as those who come to stay in hotels and travel in comfort to see historical sites and monuments. But the Silk Road has always attracted those in search of adventure they normally don't find at home.
“Uzbekistan has a great, largely untapped resource at its command that could contribute billions of dollars annually to its GDP, most of it in the form of direct foreign exchange earnings,” Norland said. “Moreover, expanding tourism could create tens of thousands of new jobs for Uzbek citizens, thereby contributing to the economic and social well being of families all across Uzbekistan. We have seen just this week at these ADB events how well Uzbekistan can organize visits from abroad,” he said.
The seminar continued with a presentation by Alisher Shamsiyev, department head for International Relations and Investments at Uzbektourism National Company. Shamsiyev outlined that Uzbekistan has tremendous tourism potential with more than 4000 historical-architectural monuments, including four sites marked as UNESCO heritage sites. The country has all the capacity needed to develop the tourism sector as one of the main spheres of Uzbekistan’s economy, Shamsiyev explained.
Development in the tourism sector has been noticeable over the last several years, he added. In 1993 there were only four tourism companies in Uzbekistan compared with 730 today; and only 98 hotels in 1991 compared with 241 hotels now, according to Shamsiyev. Additionally, 343,600 tourists visited Uzbekistan in 2008 versus 278,000 in 2001.
Nodir Sultan-Mukhamedov, chief of business development department at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, expanded on the report given by Shamsiyev, stating that Uzbekistan has done much to develop its tourism infrastructure, such as motor transport and international transport flow lanes. Further development of road infrastructure is planned for the near future, Sultan-Mukhamedov said. An ADB loan in the amount of $600 million to improve 220 kilometers of the A380 highway is only one example of allocations for such projects, he said.
Following the presentation by Sultan-Mukhamedov, seminar participants heard from Khadim Nathoo, general director of Sitara International LTD. Nathoo has run a tourism business in Uzbekistan for the last 14 years.
“There is no doubt there has been considerable progress in the field of tourism in Uzbekistan,” Nathoo said. “This has obviously resulted in an increase of tourist arrivals by many folds. The biggest advantage of tourism is that it not only creates income for many but it also brings in foreign exchange that Uzbekistan obviously needs. However, has the increase in tourist arrivals also resulted in proportional increase in foreign exchange earning to Uzbekistan?” Nathoo challenged listeners.
Many international air carriers also see potential in the Uzbekistan tourism market. Recently the German carrier, Lufthansa, returned to Uzbekistan, offering a direct flight between Tashkent and Munich.
“We are happy that Lufthansa is back to the air of Uzbekistan,” said Inna Babushkina, sales manager at Lufthansa. “We consider the new Munich-Tashkent perspective a key addition as this region is extremely important for European countries and America from a commercial point of view,” Babushkina said.
In conclusion, Uzbekistan has done a lot to develop tourism, but there is still much to be done to make tourism one of the leading sectors of the Uzbek economy and to increase tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP growth.
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