Jointly organized by UNWTO, UNESCO and the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) and hosted by the UNESCO Tashkent Office and the National company “Uzbektourism”, the initiative entitled “Enhancing Silk Road Interpretation and Quality Guides Training” will provide tourist guides operating across the Silk Road in five countries with specialized input and know-how on site interpretation and presentation.

Upon successful completion of the training, the participants will be officially certified as “Silk Road Heritage Guides“, strengthening the capacity of this important stakeholder group. This important innovative training is expected to be replicated in other Silk Road heritage corridors and can boost quality tourist experience, safeguard local heritage and increase visitation along the ancient routes.

The initiative is part of the joint UNESCO/UNWTO Silk Road Heritage Corridors Tourism Strategy, an umbrella project that aims to guarantee a balance between tourism promotion and heritage conservation along two Silk Road heritage corridors: The Chang’an-Tianshan heritage corridor crossing China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the Amu-Darya heritage corridor crossing Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The new initiative is designed to address the principles of sustainable growth, community development, heritage management and conservation along two Silk Road Heritage Corridors crossing the five participating countries (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) The first of the two corridors crossing China, was inscribed on the World Heritage List last year, at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar.

The training is also conducted within the framework of the UN Joint Programme on “Sustaining livelihoods affected by the Aral Sea disaster”, aimed to support of the social and economic well-being of the local population of Karakalpakstan by promoting livelihoods through the development of sustainable tourism.

WFTGA, the leading organization in the training and certification of tourist guides, will conduct the training, based on the Silk Road Guides Training Handbook, specifically designed for the course. The participants will form a national reservoir of highly experienced tourist guides, improving the attractiveness and quality of their destinations and enhancing the overall visitor experience. In all over 30 participants from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will participate in the course.