Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The most relevant topic today, the coronavirus pandemic has affected all sectors of the global economy. Travel industry was among the most affected areas.

In recent weeks, the rate of spread of the virus in the country has been declining; in this regard, the government is already planning to restore the economic activity of industries and the necessary infrastructure.

In order to study the sanitary conditions at tourist service facilities and to check their readiness for safe operation, a working group was created on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers, which included representatives of the State Committee for Tourism Development, as well as representatives of various ministries, departments, public organizations and NGOs.

In the period from 11 to 16 May 2020, a preliminary monitoring of the condition of hotels and objects of 3 types of transport infrastructure was carried out, including the central bus station, the international airport and the central railway station.

At the facilities, a visual inspection and a survey of personnel was carried out on all aspects related to the future arrival, temporary presence and departure of domestic and international tourists. According to the results of the study, some shortcomings in ensuring the safe operation of these objects were identified, requiring improvement. The experts and specialists of the working group conducted the briefings, gave explanations and recommendations on their elimination and the establishment of work on the accelerated development of sanitary safety standards for various types of facilities.

The working group is preparing new sanitary standards for accommodation facilities, negotiations are being held with international companies to ensure sanitary means at all objects of the tourism industry, a list of objects of each region is being formed for the pilot implementation of a system for testing the sanitary safety of Uzbekistan in the tourism sector.

In addition, negotiations are expected with the largest suppliers of hygiene and sanitation products, developers of protocols and criteria for processing rooms of different levels: Ecolab (USA), Dıversey (Turkey), Saraya (Japan), etc. The goal is to explore the possibility of introducing international protocols on hygiene and sanitation, as well as the study of the possibility of supplying appropriate equipment and disinfectants, modern technological equipment at all stages of tourists' travel.

The issues of providing discounts for representatives of the travel industry, possible dates for the supply of products, certification, according to existing protocols, of tourism industry facilities, including in the regions of the country, are discussed.

Active work is underway to prepare the necessary documents for the implementation of tourism safety standards in Uzbekistan, including mechanisms for certification of sanitary safety at tourism facilities.