Travel in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan remains one of the most closed-off countries in the world

Despite the focus of Turkmenistan’s government on the development of local tourism, the industry continues to perform very poorly in terms of both inbound and domestic tourism, with the main restraining factor being the huge number of bureaucratic issues visitors from foreign countries face. Turkmenistan is a highly autonomous and secretive country and the visa process involves a lot of different procedures, from the requirement of a letter of invitation to various additional permits and documents. In addition, there is no possibility of sending documents or filling out forms via the internet, with all correspondence having to be performed in official embassies. Moreover, Turkmenistan’s visa is one of the most expensive in the world and, even if the visitor meets all of the requirements of the visa process and obtains the document, the local government strictly limits movement within the country. As a result, visitors do not feel independent in Turkmenistan. Certain steps were taken in order to simplify the visa process for visitors to the Avaza tourist zone. However, the government and investors have not yet reached an agreement.

Online travel remains negligible

Online travel remains undeveloped in Turkmenistan. Indeed, the only area where online services exist is airline booking, with demand for such service being very limited. Poor performance in terms of online travel can be attributed to the very low internet penetration rate in the country, limited consumer awareness and the limited activity of market players. Companies within the tourism industry in Turkmenistan not only fail to provide an online service but also lack websites promoting their services. However, online travel penetration is expected to increase during the forecast period due to rising demand within the hotels and transportation categories.

Avaza tourist zone is focus of entire tourism industry

In 2007, the local government announced its ambitious plan concerning the Avaza tourist zone, which is the main focus in terms of tourism development in the country. The initial plan was to build over 60 hotels on the Caspian Sea coast, with both the local government and investors making a lot of investment. However, things have not gone as planned. For example, the current number of fashionable resorts is far below that originally envisioned. Moreover, there is still very low interest in leisure tourism in Turkmenistan. Local travellers cannot afford to stay in such hotels while foreign visitors still face a number of bureaucratic issues while visiting the country. Therefore, Avaza tourist zone development did not have a significant influence on tourism industry development in the country, despite the initial ambitious plan. However, the local government uses the Avaza tourist zone during various exhibitions and events.

Local government focuses on tourism

The situation in terms of tourism development in the country is very contradictory. On the one hand, local government understands the importance of tourism development in the country and puts a lot of effort into improving infrastructure and services. On the other hand, no actions to reduce bureaucratic issues have been taken and foreign visitors still face a huge number of issues in terms of visiting Turkmenistan. This is the main barrier for industry development in the country.

Positive forecast due to low base

Growing interest in Asian countries in terms of both leisure and business tourism will also have a positive impact on Turkmenistan tourism flow growth. However, in order to increase inbound tourism flows to the country, Turkmenistan will have to solve certain issues facing the country in terms of tourism development. The most important factor is current visa procedures, with increased flexibility in this area likely to significantly increase interest in Turkmenistan as a destination country. However, despite the issues the country faces, tourism forecasts remain positive due to the very low base of inbound tourism flows.

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