Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development Aziz Abdukhakimov met with representatives of the republic’s guides in the building of Tashkent State Economic University and congratulated them on 21 February - World Tour Day.

Aziz Abduhakimov noted that tour guides play a large role in the development of tourism, and expressed gratitude for their hard work and contribution to the development of tourism. The Deputy Prime Minister also spoke about the need to increase the number of guides in Uzbekistan in a short time.

“As a result of the openness policy pursued by the head of state in recent years, reforms in the tourism sector have yielded positive results. Now we must take tourism to a new level, because tourism is primarily jobs for the local population. If today there are more than 1,000 guides in the country, then in a short time we must increase their number to 5,000,” he said.

The Vice Prime Minister also listened to questions that interested the guides and were awaiting their decision. In particular, Bella Lee, having many years of experience in this field, proposed in cooperation with the State Committee for Tourism Development and the Ministry of Education to introduce local history lessons, hold competitions, thereby developing the young generation’s love for the motherland and interest in tourism. “One who does not love his country cannot be a guide,” she said.

In response, Aziz Abdukhakimov emphasized that it is really important to develop a culture of travel from childhood and noted that measures will be taken in this direction to create television programs for young tourists and to distribute special video courses. “Perhaps the time has come to open the Tourism 365 channel, as domestic tourism has not been studied at the required level today,” the Vice Prime Minister added.

Aziz Abdukhakimov also said that the State Committee for Tourism Development has completed work on a new project that will allow tourists to communicate and quickly exchange information with tour guides, which will allow to solve travel problems in a timely manner: “Our request is for guides if you encounter If you have any problems traveling with a tourist, immediately send us text, photos or audio about this through this platform.

It is no secret that there are many problems with cafes and restaurants, sanitary facilities and infrastructure. In addition, travel providers may be impolite. If you promptly notify us of such shortcomings, we will take the necessary measures in cooperation with the relevant state bodies and organizations.

Thus, we will jointly solve the existing problems. ” Representatives of the guides emphasized that the decrees and decisions adopted on the development of the industry at the level of the head of state and government inspired them and made proposals on some aspects that should be addressed in the future.

In particular, the introduction of tourist journalism was proposed, the absence of flyers and guidebooks / guides about our country in most foreign languages, the creation of city bass at each tourist destination, the introduction of a vegan menu and changes to the process of obtaining a certificate were noted.

Summing up the meeting, Aziz Abdukhakimov called on all sectors to work together in the development of tourism. “Only when state bodies, public organizations and higher educational institutions work together, will we be able to achieve our goal of developing activities,” he said.