Travel And Tourism in Uzbekistan
Euromonitor International's Travel And Tourism in Uzbekistan report offers a comprehensive guide to the market at a national level. It looks at travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, tourist attractions and retail travel. It identifies the leading companies and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market, including background information on disposable income, annual leave and holiday taking habits.
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Chapters: 8 | Tables: 38 | Publication date: May 2007
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- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
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Product coverage
Airline capacity and utilisation; Arrivals by country of origin; Arrivals by mode of transport; Arrivals by purpose of visit; Car rental services by sector; Demand factors; Departures by destination; Departures by mode of transport; Departures by purpose of visit; Domestic tourism by destination; Domestic tourism by mode of transport; Tourism receipts and expenditure; Tourist attractions; Transportation; Travel accommodation; Travel retail services
Executive summary
Development of Ecotourism
Tourism in Uzbekistan is mainly concentrated in a few major cities offering an abundance of historical, cultural, religious and architectural values and attractions. Most rural areas, however, cannot benefit from tourism due to the lack of a developed infrastructure.
In line with the President's approved plan to develop tourism services between 2006 and 2010, the Ecosan International Organisation and the International Center of Ecotourism organised a conference in May 2006 on the "Potential of Ecotourism in Uzbekistan". The conference discussed the importance of ecotourism development in rural areas and presented one route which passes through the eastern part of Tashkent, located in the mountainous Western Tien Shan, and which connects two lively mountainous regions – Beldersai and Kumushkan. The route can be used for hiking, cycling, and horse riding. The advantage of this route is its safety, as it does not require special preparation or mountaineering equipment.
The development of ecotourism should be amongst the primary goals of all tourism strategies, as it would contribute to ecological improvements, the development of rural areas and the attraction of additional financial resources, including foreign investment.
Tourism is Important for the Economy of Uzbekistan
Tourism is becoming an increasingly significant contributor to the economy, as the government plans to more than double tourism's contribution to GDP within five years.
Performance Affected by Global Developments
During Soviet times Uzbekistan was the main part of the historic Silk Road route attracting one million tourists per year. The collapse of the Soviet Union had a negative impact on the tourism industry, which has since recorded a strong falls in the number of arrivals. Although tourism has recently been declared as a priority industry for development and the infrastructure has improved considerably, tourist arrivals do not show a regular growth pattern. Over the review period, the number of arrivals increased in 1999-2000, then declined in 2001 and 2002 before rising again in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, the number of arrivals was again less than in 2004 largely due to the political instabilities in Andijon in spring 2005.
Moreover, tourism in Uzbekistan was adversely affected by the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, the war in Iraq, and by the association of the country with Afghanistan or Pakistan because of its name ends in "stan". This has created a negative image for the country amongst foreign tourists.
Despite the irregular pattern in the number of arrivals, and to a lesser extent departures, and domestic tourism, tourism receipts have grown over the review period, mostly due to the increase in service rates. This being said, outgoing tourism expenditures recorded far greater figures than incoming and domestic tourism expenditures, thereby driving a negative balance of payment in 2005. This pattern is projected to continue until 2011 due to the growing affluence of the population, which is causing a rise in outgoing tourism.
Marketing is Improving
Over the review period more tourism companies in Uzbekistan have adopted a proactive approach to marketing and product development. Each year more and more companies participate in international tourism fairs where they initiate important contact with foreign tour operators.
Uzbektourism, the national tourism authority, which has ministry status to regulate the tourism industry, founded the Great Silk Road advertising agency in 2004. The Great Silk Road promotes Uzbekistan as a destination at international fairs, organises domestic travel fairs, prepares and prints marketing and promotional materials which are distributed in major hotels as well as on international flights by the national carrier, Uzbekistan Airlines. Recently Uzbektourism started to represent the country on one stand at international fairs.
In addition, Uzbektourism plans to provide beneficial and even free-of-charge areas to foreign tourist administrations and certain partners at the International Travel Fair, which was scheduled for autumn 2006 in Tashkent. Moreover, the national tourism authority has recently announced a competition to create an Uzbekistan brand and logo. Upon completion and acceptance, all tourism companies will participate in international travel fairs under one brand and logo.
In 2005, the Great Silk Road, with the support of Uzbektourism, organised five familiarisation trips for foreign journalists to acquaint them with the country. A recently organised familiarisation trip for Russian journalists, which was covered in the Russian periodical "Vokrug Sveta" in March 2006, was expected to boost the number of arrivals from Russia in the first half of 2006.
Table of contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM
TOURISM IS IMPORTANT FOR THE ECONOMY OF UZBEKISTAN
PERFORMANCE AFFECTED BY GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
MARKETING IS IMPROVING
KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS
TOURISM IS MOSTLY LIMITED TO ETHNIC UZBEK AND RUSSIAN TOURISTS VISITING FAMILY
Outlook
DEVELOPMENT OF "MAHAL" TOURISM
Outlook
OUTGOING TOURISM WILL OVERRUN DOMESTIC TOURISM
Outlook
IMPROVING MECHANISMS FOR INTERNAL COORDINATION
Outlook
INVESTMENT FLOW CONCENTRATED IN THE LARGER CITIES
Outlook
RELIGIOUS TOURISM
Outlook
Impact
TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION
TRENDS
PROSPECTS
TRANSPORTATION
TRENDS
PROSPECTS
TRAVEL RETAIL
TRENDS
PROSPECTS
MARKET DATA
Table 1 Length of Trip: 2000-2005
Table 2 Arrivals by Country of Origin: 2000-2005
Table 3 Arrivals by Method of Transport: 2000-2005
Table 4 Arrivals by Purpose of Visit: 2000-2005
Table 5 Departures: 2000-2005
Table 6 Departures by Destination: 2000-2005
Table 7 Departures by Mode of Transport: 2000-2005
Table 8 Departures by Purpose of Visit: 2000-2005
Table 9 Domestic Trips by Mode of Transport: 2000-2005
Table 10 Incoming Tourist Receipts: 2000-2005
Table 11 Incoming Tourist Receipts % Growth: 2000-2005
Table 12 Outgoing Tourism Expenditure: 2000-2005
Table 13 Outgoing Tourism Expenditure % Growth: 2000-2005
Table 14 Domestic Tourist Expenditure: 2000-2005
Table 15 Forecast Arrivals by Country of Origin: 2005-2010
Table 16 Forecast Arrivals by Method of Transport: 2005-2010
Table 17 Forecast Departures: 2005-2010
Table 18 Forecast Departures by Destination: 2005-2010
Table 19 Forecast Departures by Mode of Transport: 2005-2010
Table 20 Forecast Incoming Tourist Receipts: 2005-2010
Table 21 Forecast Domestic Tourist Expenditure: 2005-2010
Table 22 Forecast Outgoing Tourism Expenditure: 2005-2010
SECTOR DATA
Table 23 Hotels: Units 2000-2005
Table 24 Regional Hotel Parameters 2005
Table 25 Travel Accommodation Sales by Sector: Value 2000-2005
Table 26 Hotel Company Rankings 2005
Table 27 Forecast Hotels: Units 2005-2010
Table 28 Forecast Travel Accommodation Sales by Sector: Value 2005-2010
Table 29 Transportation Sales by Sector: Value 2000-2005
Table 30 Airline Company Rankings 2005
Table 31 Forecast Transportation Sales by Sector: Value 2005-2010
Table 32 Travel Retail Outlets: Units 2000-2005
Table 33 Travel Retail Sales: 2000-2005
Table 34 Travel Retail Company Rankings 2005
Table 35 Forecast Travel Retail Outlets: Units 2005-2010
Table 36 Forecast Travel Retail Sales: 2005-2010
Table 37 Tourist Attractions: Value 2000-2005
Table 38 Forecast Tourist Attractions: Value 2005-2010
DEFINITIONS
TRAVEL AND TOURISM
DEMAND FACTORS
Length of trip
TOURISM PARAMETERS
Arrivals
Departures
Outgoing tourism expenditure
Domestic tourists
Domestic trips
Domestic tourist expenditure
TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION
Hotels
Other travel accommodation
Number of bed nights
Occupancy rates
Number of rooms and beds
TRANSPORTATION
Air
Other transportation
CAR RENTAL
TRAVEL RETAIL
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
INTERNET SALES