Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Tashkent State University of Economics hosted an open dialogue regarding the presentation of the Tourism Development Strategy for 2023-2026 and the developed draft program of activities for its implementation.

The event was attended by Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov, Ambassador of Germany to Uzbekistan Tilo Kinnear, Chairman of the Tourism Committee Umid Shodiev, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage Rasul Zarikiyev, Beate Shorayt German organization for the development of international cooperation, as well as international experts in tourism development Nicole Hausler, Julian Felten and representatives of the international organization.

For information, together with GIZ and the Tourism Committee, the Strategy "Sustainable Development of Tourism in the Republic of Karakalpakstan for 2023-2026" was developed, representing the Republic of Karakalpakstan as a unique tourist destination.

The goal of the Strategy is to diversify tourism products and improve the quality of services, improve infrastructure, create new tourist destinations, increase the export index in the sector, conduct promotional activities in foreign tourism markets and create new jobs.

According to the strategy:

creation of star hotels in the area;

improvement of the transport and logistics system for domestic and foreign tourists, in particular, the organization of domestic and foreign air and rail transportation;

preparation of guides who speak English, Russian, German, French, Italian, Turkish, Spanish with experience and knowledge;

increase in the length of stay of tourists (overnight stays) and their expenses by an average of 7-10% per year;

by 2026, the number of foreign tourists will increase to 180,000 (50,000 in 2022) and 1 million domestic tourists. (552 thousand in 2022), export of tourism services from 13.5 to 60 million US dollars, increase the number of rooms in accommodation facilities from 1,005 to 1,905 in US dollars;

development of serf tourism (Castles) with the Khorezm region, effective use of the possibilities of the Savitsky Museum, the Aral Sea, Sudochie Lake and the Ustyurt Plateau;

tasks have been identified that need to be implemented in a number of priority areas, such as conducting marketing events and placing the tourist product of Karakalpakstan on international tourist sites.