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0THE RELEVANCE OF EUROPEAN TOURISM ECONOMICS TO THE UZBEKISTAN'S TOURISM ECONOMICS
1 Akhrorova Nargiza, 2 Abduazizova Azizabonu
1Lecturer in "Silk Road" International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, 2"Silk Road" International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11218696
Abstract. Tourism industry is the most growing sector of economy in Uzbekistan, and so its economic benefits. Moreover, number of tourists, visiting cities connected with ancient Silk Road, are growing on annual basis. In order to benefit from this sector of economy in a long-run, we should approach to the tourism industry as a separate and important branch of economy. By doing so, we can create sustainable tourism resources and prevent exploitation of them in the future. Most of the countries in Europe established efficient ways of developing tourism industry in a global scale and benefitedfrom those approaches. Implementing those methods of developing tourism in Uzbekistan, we can strengthen this branch of economy and take advantages of it in efficient way.
Key words: economic growth, tourism industry, relevance, infrastructure, globalization, peripheral areas, development of various attractions.
Аннотация. Индустрия туризма является наиболее растущим сектором экономики Узбекистана, а значит, и её экономические выгоды. Кроме того, с каждым годом растёт число туристов, посещающих города, связанные с древним Шелковым путём. Для того, чтобы извлечь выгоду из этого сектора экономики в долгосрочной перспективе, мы должны подходить к индустрии туризма как к отдельной и важной отрасли экономики.Поступая таким образом, мы можем создать устойчивые туристические ресурсы и предотвратить их эксплуатацию в будущем. Большинство стран Европы создали эффективные пути развития индустрии туризма в глобальном масштабе и извлекли выгоду из этих подходов. Реализуя эти методы развития туризма в Узбекистане, мы можем укрепить эту отрасль экономики и эффективно использовать её преимущества.
Ключевые слова: экономический рост, туристическая индустрия, актуальность, инфраструктура, глобализация, периферийные территории, развитие различных достопримечательностей.
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is a significantly growing industry in a global scale, and so its economic importance. According to Pololikashvili (2019), "Tourism is an important component of export diversification both for emerging and advanced economies, with a strong capacity to reduce trade deficits and to compensate for weaker export revenues from other goods and services". In many countries around the world, tourism industry employs large proportion of people with highly paid jobs, supports local economy, reduces poverty and unemployment rate. Once mentioned Borg (2013) that "all cities underlined the importance of tourism for the local economy: tourism contributed to the local income, and many people were employed in the tourism industry. In some cities, tourism was the principal economic activity and the only current source of local economic development". Furthermore, tourism brings benefits to the development of local infrastructure, conservation of nature, saving culture and traditions that have lost their values in the last decades.
As stated Bunghez (2016), "the sheer volume and complexity of the offer of tourist services have led to the development of travel and tourism industries". What is more, tourism is recognized as playing a strategic role for both theoretical and empirical reasons. (Salvatore et al., 2017). From a theoretical point of view, tourism is commonly considered to be a significant driver in the development of marginal areas and is seen as the most accessible instrument both for activating underutilized local resources without any strong infrastructural investment as well as creating service employment that may be attractive for young people (Muller & Jansson, 2007). From an empirical point of view, tourism represents an important economic activity in inner areas and it can be chosen as the key for the activation of territorial resources (Pezzi, 2016). In addition, Sokhanvar indicated that "international tourists provide foreign exchange to the domestic economy and it has an immediate positive impact on the economic growth" (2022). Because of aforementioned reasons, the phenomenon of tourism should be regarded as a separate branch of economy, developed in a more sustainable way to get benefits and keep this branch of economy in a long-run. However, if the cost of the tourism activities outweighs the revenue from these activities, then the tourism economics are part of the broader objective to develop responsible and more stable tourism economies. Therefore, in Uzbekistan, we can highlight some industries in tourism sector, which carry greater importance worldwide, that can be developed. The economy of Uzbekistan's tourism sector can be improved by implementing the following elements found in the European tourism sector: focusing on building a solid infrastructure that will meet the expectations of tourist demand in the future, adjusting tourism activities according to external factors such as globalization, taking into consideration peripheral areas, measuring and assessing capabilities of destination to develop other various tourism routes to attract tourists.
A country's visitor infrastructure consists of interconnected elements making it possible for tourists to come and visit the tourist attraction in their destination. Among these are basic services, road systems, transportation, accommodation, gastronomy, services for sports, cultural and recreational activities, network of sores and shops in general. The satisfaction of the tour program is measured by these facilities. In the management of tourism destination, there is not only problem or crisis to deal with. Major challenges and risks lie ahead for destinations which do not comply with required infrastructure standards or are unable to provide an appropriate infrastructure. As claimed Bunghez, "Transportation networks enable destination accessibility for visitors (tourists). Thus, transportation networks over land, rail, sea and air, that facilitate quick and comfortable destination access, are indispensable" (2016). A problem in Uzbek tourism infrastructure is that Uzbekistan has only three international airports(Tashkent International Airport, Samarkand International Airport, and Navoi International Airport) and others are domestic airports (that have flights only within the country). According to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Uzbekistan is 447,400 square kilometers with two international airports (2023). On the other hand, the United Kingdom is about half the size of Uzbekistan (CIA, 2023), but has 12 international airports (Doctors Relocate, 2024). By creating more international airports in Uzbekistan, state management offers the connectivity and access necessary for a modern economy, enabling businesses to take advantage of opportunities in other countries whilst facilitating tourists' come and go from one country to another, all which are expected to stimulate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Transportation infrastructure is a facilitator of growth, opening up hidden demand. Moreover, one or two international airports cannot serve all direct flights at a time. Passengers may land and switch planes to get to their destinations; however, if we construct more airports, Uzbekistan will be able to provide direct flights from more countries, and tourists
will get advantage from that. What is more, providing more direct flights will strengthen Aviation Diplomacy, establishing bilateral air service agreements.
Discussions: Adjusting Uzbekistan's Tourism Industry to Globalized World.
Globalization can be described as a variety of social, cultural, political and economic changes that have been spread all over the world over the past few decades. In developing countries, globalization allows tourism industry to provide their services and goods, with the help of which they increase their global competition. Further, it will drive prices down and gives larger varieties of choices for consumers. Lowered costs help people to choose services based on their budget. Based on the information provided by European Parliament News (2019)," globalization creates many benefits and opportunities: more trade for companies, job opportunities, and advantages for consumers". As a result of globalization, EU (European Union) is the world's largest trader of services. In order to adjust Uzbekistan's tourism industry to globalization, government needs more international hotel chains. According to International Trade Administration, "international hotel brands are currently found mainly in the capital city of Tashkent, but there is a greater demand for hotels and global franchises in Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva - the central cities of the ancient Silk Road and major tourism destinations". By creating international hotel chains in other cities of Uzbekistan, except Tashkent, country can help tourism industry in Uzbekistan to gain access to a global network of resources to help sustain their businesses. On top of that, while there are, in Uzbekistan, international hotels, foreign investors will acquire most of the opportunities to invest in this category in the hospitality industry.
Switzerland of Uzbekistan
Mostly, in the development of the tourist destination, agencies try to fascinate people by worldwide famous attractions and overlook any place with low rate of visit. This is the way of taking away a chance from tourists to explore marginal areas in Uzbekistan. The country is only known for three major destinations- Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva- connected with ancient Silk Road. However, the country offers plenty of fascinating and less famous tourist spots that are worth to visit. As it was cited in Uzbek Travel, "Larry Brian, the journalist of the media portal wrote an article "Top 7 Little-known Tourist Destinations in Uzbekistan" and explained why each city and sight is worth to visit. This list covers such regions of Uzbekistan as Karakalpakstan, Zaamin National Natural Park, Shakhrisabz, Sarmishsay, Margilan, Kokand, and Qarshi" For example, "Zaamin National Natural Park in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan is described as "Uzbek Switzerland" for its unique juniper forests and wildlife" (Uzbek Travel, 2022). If the tourism industry managers do not ignore this kind of enchanting destinations, there is a chance to develop other routes to attract tourists who are not considering a second visit to Uzbekistan. As Salvatore said, "New tourist phenomena in peripheral rural areas, are set to become important drivers of change because they may favor a 'positive conservation of landscape'" (2015).
CONCLUSION
The Statistical Internet Survey conducted between May 7 and August 27, 2008, found that the majority of those surveyed (39%) visit Uzbekistan due interest in its architectural and historical sites. The next-largest group (24%) visited Uzbekistan to observe its culture, way of life, and customs. (Wikipedia, 2023). These statistics also show that cultural and heritage tourist is mostly developed in Uzbekistan, but other types of tourism are overlooked in some ways. As Minciu mentioned, "The diversity of activities incorporated in the tourism industry as well as the overlapping character of some of them in the structure of other economic branch highly based on association and interconnectivity. This determines the magnitude and complexity of the links
between tourism and other parts of the economy" (2004). Uzbekistan has the potential to develop other tourism types, so that the country can offer diversity of activities to tourists. One of the examples is gastronomic tourism (culinary tourism). In conclusion, Uzbekistan, a cradle of culture and a majestic collection of architecture in cities, which are deeply connected with the history of the Silk Road, has potential to bring a great economical boost if government puts efforts on improving all sectors of tourism industry and make this industry more sustainable in upcoming years. If these efforts are put in a productive way, tourism can become vital for the success of many economies in Uzbekistan.
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