CC BY
9Shazada YUSUPOVA.
master's student Faculty of Economics, NUUz
DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURISM SECTOR IN UZBEKISTAN:
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS.
Currently, in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the country's authorities pay great attention to the development of the tourism industry: the development of the service sector is identified as one of the most important priorities of the country's socio-economic development. [1]
The number of international tourist arrivals and the income from the tourism industry increases every year. Tourism provides jobs, the state - tax revenues to the public budget, and also increases the welfare of the country as creating, promoting and implementing tourism services. [2]
Tourism is a trip of a person to another country or another area of his country, the purpose of which is rest, leisure, entertainment and recreation. Today, many countries literally "live off' tourism. For example, countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and many others that were considered third world countries in the recent past can be seen making an economic breakthrough thanks to tourism. France, as the most visited country, creates more than 2 million direct and indirect jobs for its citizens. We know the UAE as an oil tycoon, but the shares of GDP from sales of oil products and tourism were practically comparable before the pandemic. All these statistics prove the importance of tourism for the development of the country in economic terms. Tourism plays a significant role in the cultural growth of the country, which also contributes to the country's growth in various other industries.
At present, tourism all over the world has begun to develop at maximum speed. Globalization significantly expands not only integration opportunities, but also gives shifts in the development of international tourism. In the current era, there is an acute need for the development of tourism, since it is tourism that has a huge impact on culture, education, economy, politics and other spheres. It is worth noting that tourism encompasses a wide range of services and should be considered more deeply than just recreation. Based on this, the results of tourism should be considered from the point of view of the impact on various spheres of life of the state, its regions and districts.
"Taking into account the dynamic growth of tourism, its tangible multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy, growth in the well-being of the population and the need to take measures to protect the environment, the tourism industry should become one of the powerful tools to increase the
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sustainability of the country's development," noted in the medium term Tourism Industry Development Concept of the Republic of Uzbekistan. [3]
During 9 months of the 2019-year, consistent work was carried out to increase the tourist flow to the country as part of the implementation of the "Concept for the development of the tourism sector in the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2019-2025." The results of the study of statistical data show a high rate of growth in the number of foreign tourists to Uzbekistan. So, during 9 months of 2019, the number of foreign tourists amounted to 4.9 million people. This indicator is 26% higher compared to the same period last year (for 9 months of 2018 - 3.9 million people). [4]
At the same time, the growth rates of foreign guests from different regions to Uzbekistan show a different level. So, if the growth the number of foreign tourists from Central Asia and other CIS countries was 24.1% and 26.3%, respectively, then the growth the number of tourists from non-CIS countries was 54.8%. The largest number of tourists arrived in Uzbekistan were from the Russian Federation, Turkey, Afghanistan, China, Korea, etc. In terms of months, the largest number of foreign tourists arrives in August -692.2 thousand people. At the same time, compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of tourists arriving in January and February increased sharply. So, in January 2019, the number of arrivals of tourists compared to the same period in 2018 increased by 64% (from 266.2 thousand to 437.2 thousand), in February - by 48% (from 264.9 thousand to 393, 5 thousand). [5]
However, despite the huge work implemented in that regards, still, it is necessary further develop and improve the tourism sector in Uzbekistan and eliminate factors that negatively affect the development of this sector. Namely, that are: high prices for air travel, underdevelopment of roadside infrastructure, lack of qualified personnel, problems in the legal regulation of the sphere of tourism and hotel business.
Tourism is one of the sectors of the economy most affected by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to border closures, travel bans and lockdown measures.
In 2020, a total of 1 million 504 thousand foreign tourists visited Uzbekistan and tourist services were provided for 261 million US dollars. According to the forecast for 2021, plans have been developed to attract about 1.7 million tourists from abroad and that expects exports from tourism services for $ 370 million.
For the further development of the tourism sector in Uzbekistan, the state offers benefits and preferences that have a positive impact on this area.
Solving these problems requires a lot of attention and the fulfillment of the assigned tasks:
1. To develop an innovative tourism model that harmoniously combines the national flavor of the multinational people of Uzbekistan with world standards for the provision of tourist services.
2. Carry out large-scale work to increase foreign investment in human potential.
3. Develop a program to stimulate inbound and development of domestic tourism in Uzbekistan.
4. Optimize the economic, environmental and social benefits of tourism and distribute them to societies.
5. Ensure the coordination of the activities of the public and private sectors in the development of the tourism sector.
Based on the above problems and the positive results achieved in the field of tourism in the republic, it is necessary to strengthen the achieved results and develop priority directions of state policy for the medium term. Namely, at the present stage of the strategic development of tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the main goal of state policy is to create a modern, highly efficient and competitive tourist complex that provides ample opportunities to meet the needs of citizens of Uzbekistan and foreign visitors in a variety of tourist services, and its integration into the world tourist community.
List of references:
[1] Kim T.V. "Influence of the tourism sector on the development of the regional economy", Journal "Business Expert", No. 11,2016, Tashkent.
[2] Kim T.V., "World experience in tourism development", "Moliya" magazine, No. 1 2017, Tashkent
[3] Uzbektourism.uz
[4] Concept for the development of tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2019-2025
[5] Stat.uz
[6] Худоёров А.А. Узбекистонда хал^аро туризмни ривожлантиришнинг узига хос ташкилий и^тисодий жихатлари // Экономика и финансы (Узбекистан). №8. 2019. Б.9-19
