Tasks in tourism and the implementation of the “Green Space” project discussed

On October 11, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting on the issues of entirely using the potential of tourist and cultural sites, organizing the autumn season of the nationwide project “Yashil Makon” (Green Space).

Tourism today is one of the essential drivers of the economy. Therefore, every country is trying to attract more tourists. As a result of the creation of broad opportunities in this industry, the number of guests, facilities, and tourism routes in the country is increasing.

Over the past 8 months, 4.3 million tourists visited Uzbekistan, and revenues from their stay amounted to $1.4 billion. As a result of the introduction of additional days off and discounts, the number of domestic tourists reached 15 million, which is 2 times more than last year.

The tourism infrastructure is consistently developing. This year, 15 thousand new guest accommodation places have been created, and their number has reached 137 thousand. 540 recreational and entertainment facilities have been built, and 70 tourist routes have been opened.

6 private airlines also began operating, 23 new aircraft were brought in, and 20 international and 6 domestic flights were launched. International flights at Samarkand Airport increased from 46 to 85 per week. 1.3 thousand modern buses were purchased, and 38 routes were opened.

New opportunities for increasing the flow of tourists were discussed at the meeting.

First of all, it was noted that there are great opportunities to attract tourists from neighboring countries, Russia and China. In particular, the regions of Uzbekistan have established partnerships with Chinese provinces. The possibility of promoting the tourism potential of the country’s regions and attracting 1 million Chinese tourists per year was noted.

The influx of tourists from foreign countries has also increased. Thus, the number of tourists from India, Japan, the United States, and Italy increased by 3-4 times. 40 thousand tourists from Spain visited Khorezm. But they spend more money on travel, since they arrive through third countries. If direct flights from Madrid are established, according to tour operators, the flow of tourists from Spain can be increased 4 times.

In this regard, the Ministry of Transport has been instructed, together with ambassadors abroad, to take measures to expand the geography of flights.

Soon, on 16-20 October, a meeting of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization will be held for the first time in Samarkand. More than 1,000 participants from 128 countries will attend the event, including 79 ministers and 24 deputy tourism ministers.

“This event is a great opportunity to show our country’s tourism potential”, the Head of state said.

The need was emphasized, with the involvement of representatives of the tourism industry of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the regions, to demonstrate to guests the history, nature, culture, shrines, gastronomy, tourist spots, and routes of each region, to propose projects and reach agreements.

Cultural events are another vital area for attracting tourists. At the initiative of the President, festivals were organized in Karakalpakstan and some regions. Based on this experience, the task has been set to increase the number of cultural events that attract tourists in other regions.

The Head of state paid particular attention to the role of cinematography in promoting tourism. Instructions were given to the Ministry of Culture and the Cinematography Agency on creating new film products about the country.

The task was set to improve the quality of service, as well as the skills and culture of industry workers, with the participation of specialists from the “Silk Road” International University of Tourism.

Issues of active use of recreational facilities and local parks, organizing thematic tourist streets, and providing creative teams with tools and wardrobes were also considered.

The work within the nationwide project “Yashil Makon” was discussed at the meeting.

Over the 2 years since the organization of this movement, more than 1.2 thousand hectares of green gardens and public parks and more than 1 million hectares of green areas and paths have been laid out. In general, the attitude towards trees has changed in society and among those in charge.

The autumn tree planting season has been announced from October 25 to December 1, during which it is planned to plant 85 million seedlings.

For this purpose, a republican headquarters will be formed, including heads of the Academy of Sciences and institutes of soil science and forestry. They will determine the choice of seedlings based on soil analysis and climatic conditions.

The Forestry Agency was instructed to deliver 200 seedlings to each mahalla free of charge. From October 15, seedling fairs will be organized in all districts and mahallas.

To increase interest in planting trees, land along roads, railways, rivers, and canals will be distributed between residents and entrepreneurs based on an agreement without changing the category of land.

Funds from the Public Works Fund of the Ministry of Employment will now be provided to the mahallas, which will allocate funds for planting trees, caring for them, and cleaning the territory.

As is known, there are improvement departments in regions, districts, and cities. It was proposed to transfer these services to the private sector as an experiment. In this case, each street and the trees will be divided into lots and put up for open competition. Responsible persons have been instructed to develop the conditions and procedures for financing the outsourcing of landscaping services.

Heads of industries and regions presented a report on the issues discussed at the meeting.

UzA