Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The eighth World Tourism Summit “Smart Cities, Smart Destinations”, organized by the Government of Kazakhstan in Nursultan and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), started on 9 October 2019.

At the invitation, the event is attended by: the delegation of Uzbekistan, consisting of the leaders of the khokimiyats of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khorezm, the Tashkent region and the city of Tashkent, as well as the State Committee for Tourism Development.

In the new UN urban planning program for sustainable development, it is noted that the creation of “smart cities”, the improvement of conditions, have a positive impact on the lives of people and visitors. Smart cities will help create the conditions for sustainable socio-economic development, providing jobs, and developing infrastructure. The event is also attended by: the leadership of the organization of the World Federation of Tourist Cities (WTCF) and the International Association of Congresses and Conferences (ICCA); as well as measures by cities such as Vienna, Barcelona, Malaga, Bilbao, Moscow, Helsinki, Bangkok, Seoul and other representatives of tourism organizations.

According to analysts, by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. This, in turn, will create a number of problems in megacities - there will be overpopulation, it will become more difficult to move around the streets, there will be no way to efficiently use resources. That is why a number of countries are working on modern urban infrastructure projects. Cities on earth are being created that provide modern information and communication technologies. This project is called Smart City - “smart city”.

The number of smart cities is now more than 400. The presentation of Smart City projects on the topic “Smart Cities and Tourism” took place at a high-level panel session in Samarkand and Tashkent. Nursultan’s declaration “smart cities, smart directions” was adopted. Experts also made presentations and panel discussions on the topic “Creative cities: Tourism as a source of innovation and creativity.”

At the 8th UNWTO World Tourism Summit, they discussed the complex problems that many cities in the world are facing today. Our delegation also took part in a workshop on business events organized as part of the summit by the UNWTO Academy and the International Association of Congresses and Conferences (ICCA). I would like to thank the representatives of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan for their direct assistance in organizing the participation of our delegation.