Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - A media tour for guides, representatives of tourism organizations and the media was organized in Jizzakh and Samarkand regions from 23 to 27 August. The info-tour, organized within the framework of the USAID Entrepreneurship and Business Environment Development Project by the Association of Private Tourism Organizations of Uzbekistan (ATTO) and the National PR Center with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is aimed at developing SVT tourism and promoting the tourism potential of family guest houses, as well as a range of services provided to tourists in these accommodation facilities.

CBT (Community based tourism) is community based tourism, which is a form of tourism in which representatives of the local community are involved and benefit from their activities. Today, the potential of CBT tourism in Uzbekistan is inextricably linked with the cultural and national characteristics of the region and local communities. Recently, there has been a large increase in the number of CBT tourists, in accordance with which the number of family guest houses is also growing.

Earlier, in May 2021, within the framework of the USAID Entrepreneurship and Business Environment Development Project, ATTO held a series of training seminars on organizing effective guesthouse activities for future entrepreneurs in Jizzakh, Samarkand and Bukhara regions. The training seminars were attended by about 200 entrepreneurs planning to run family guest houses, as well as 100 tour operators and guides. At the seminars, local residents were taught the basics of organizing guest houses, business management, marketing, basic forms of reporting, planning expenses and incomes. Also, the participants of the seminars developed new tourist routes, made a menu of national and European dishes.

After the measures taken, in these regions there is an increase in the number of new family guest houses. For example, in the village of Tersak, Samarkand region, after training seminars, more than 35 family guest houses were opened, and in the Zaamin district, about 40 houses were opened in a few months, and today their total number is more than 80. It should be noted that these accommodation facilities, in addition to accommodation , can offer tourists leisure services: master classes in cooking national dishes, making products of folk applied art, escorting to local attractions and demonstrating the life and culture of the local population.

As part of the media tour program, the participants got acquainted with the activities of the guest houses of Zaamin district of Jizzakh region, the villages of Konigil and Tersak of Samarkand region, and also visited the tourist attractions of the regions, including the Zaamin national natural park, Peshagor cave and the shrine "Khujay Serob-ota". The highlight of the event was acquaintance with the process of cooking national dishes, master classes on baking local flatbread, processing milk and dairy products, butter, sour cream and other activities of family guest houses.