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On February 27, a press conference was held at the Agency for Information and Mass Communications (AIMK) dedicated to the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. UP-5781. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development Fakhriddin Davrukov and heads of a number of departments and divisions.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the ongoing reforms in the field of tourism and a radical increase in foreign citizens entering the republic by solving the existing problems of the tourism infrastructure, improving the quality of services provided and actively promoting the national tourism product in world markets, strengthening the human resources of the tourism industry, on August 13, 2019 Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan UP-5781. In accordance with this decree, a number of important decisions were made. In particular:

1. In the international airports "Karshi", "Nukus", "Termez" and "Bukhara" the regime "Open skies" was introduced.

In this direction, charter flights of the Chinese air carrier Zhejang Loong Airlines Co. Ltd were organized in the direction of Hangzhou - Xi'an - Tashkent and the Turkish airline Atlasglobal - Bukhara - Istanbul, Istanbul - Samarkand.

IrAero Airlines organized regular flights on the routes "St. Petersburg - Karshi - St. Petersburg" and "Moscow - Andijan - Moscow". Prior to the opening of these flights, the international airports in Karshi and Andijan were temporarily closed.

Regular flights of the Iranian airline "Zagros Airlines" were organized in the direction "Tehran-Tashkent".

2. Part of the expenses of the subjects of tourism activities and air carriers for the organization of charter flights from foreign countries to Uzbekistan, in equal shares, is covered by the state budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the off-budget Fund for the support of the tourism sector under the State Committee for Tourism Development.

The Regulation on covering part of the expenses of the organizers of charter flights has been developed, which will soon be put into effect.

3. Mechanisms will be introduced to cover part of the costs of foreign film companies for the creation of audiovisual products in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan ("rebate") at the expense of the state budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan, part of the cost of filming full-length films about historical and legendary personalities of Uzbekistan at the expense of the State Committee for Tourism Development.

In 2019, foreign film companies released six audiovisual products totaling $ 1.6 million (Basil, Raangi, Khuda Haafiz, Al Safar, Race across the world and Kids on the silk road).

4. Uzbekistan Airports JSC was granted the right to determine and set tariffs and charges for services at airports, expand and modernize the necessary infrastructure for storing aviation fuel and lubricants, conclude contracts for the supply and sale of aviation fuel and lubricants.

Uzbekistan Airports Joint Stock Company began purchasing aviation fuel at a price of US $ 890 per ton. Before the decree was adopted, this price was $ 1,164.

5. The State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan has compiled a list of 93 gatherings of citizens with the highest tourism potential throughout the country.

6. To simplify the visa regime and create more favorable conditions for foreign tourists entering Uzbekistan, a visa-free regime was introduced for citizens of 20 countries for a period of 30 days.

In 2019, the number of tourists from visa-free countries increased by an average of 26%, including 50% from abroad.

7. In order to develop roadside infrastructure and organize tourist services along highways, work began on the creation of a tourist transport corridor - "Tourist Highway of Uzbekistan", which will stretch from the city of Khanabad in Andijan region to the city of Muynak in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, with a branch to the city of Termez, Surkhandarya region.

Working groups with representatives of the Committee for Tourism Development, the State Committee for Roads, the Ministry of Construction and local khokimiyats studied the projects and developed a list of roadside infrastructure development in the field.

8. The State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan approved a list of innovative business ideas and start-ups for tourism, recommended for implementation.

A regulation on the provision of grants to entrepreneurs covering part of the costs of projects has been developed, the regulation will be approved in the near future.

9. The decree has developed projects aimed at the development of tourism infrastructure and the application of tax and customs benefits for entrepreneurial activities.

10. The State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan has developed the Regulation of the Fidoisi Tourism badge, which will be awarded to representatives of public structures and foreign citizens who have made a significant contribution to the development and popularization of tourism in the country.

11. The Institute for Tourism Development was established, the main activity of which is to conduct research in the field of tourism and improve the system of training specialists for the tourism industry.

The Institute organizes events to improve the qualifications of personnel working in the field of tourism. For example, the Institute for Tourism Development has developed a schedule for holding civic meetings to prepare and educate local residents in tourism services: Tourist Mahalla, Tourist Village and Tourist Aul.

On February 18-22 this year, at the Youth Camp in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region, the Institute held a training seminar for teachers of colleges and technical schools under the State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan

12. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the khokims of the regions and the city of Tashkent, within 5 working days from the receipt of the request of the State Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, established responsibility for the allocation of land plots for the construction of modern sanitary and hygienic facilities.

During 2019, 963 sanitary and hygienic units were built on the main roads and in tourist places of the country and 1,142 were repaired.

192 legal entities and individuals submitted applications for the construction of 270 sanitary and hygienic units, 49 of which were allocated land plots.

13.From September 1, 2019, the E-ticket online system for the sale of railway tickets was launched.

14. On February 19-20, the First International Forum “Uzbekistan Airports, Aviation & Logistics Forum” took place. The forum was attended by over 1000 participants and foreign guests.

15. A concept for the development of Youth Tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan was developed.

16. In accordance with the Decree of the Uzbek Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Certification, from January 1, 2020, the state standards "General requirements for personnel service at accommodation facilities", "General requirements for tour operators and travel agents" were introduced.

17. In accordance with the instructions for the creation of wireless Wi-Fi networks at a speed of 4 Mbps at airports, railways and bus stations, at 55 facilities (airport, train station and other public facilities), as well as at 650 business entities, there were more than 1925 Internet access points have been installed.

The same requirements apply to hotels - they must provide access to wireless Wi-Fi at a speed of at least 4 Mbps in the rooms.

18. For the development of adventure tourism, a list of camping sites has been approved and work is underway to erect signs around them.

19. The Central Bank has developed a program of events to provide, by January 1, 2021, tourist facilities with terminals for international payment cards (Master Card, Visa, UnionPay, etc.), as well as terminals for accepting co-badging cards and ATMs for currency exchange.

20. In the Tashkent region, the South Korean company Ceok Tae Global will build an electronic golf club with an area of ​​1.3 hectares. In the Jizzakh region, the South Korean company Mirasmanda Golf resort was allocated 200 hectares of land for the construction of a golf complex.

As a result of the reforms, the number of foreign tourists in 2019 increased by 26% compared to 2018 and reached 6.7 million (5.3 million in 2018). In turn, the export of tourism services increased by 26% and amounted to $ 1,313 million. ($ 1,041 million in 2018).

During 2019, 274 accommodation facilities were built with a total stock of 6,000 rooms, and the total number of accommodation facilities reached 1,188 with a stock of 26,100 rooms.

It is noteworthy that the growth rates of accommodation facilities in 2017-2018 were 4-9%, and in 2019 - 30%;

In 2019, 499 new tour operators started their activities, and their total number reached 1482.

During the press conference, media representatives addressed the specialists with relevant questions and proposals of interest to them regarding tourist fees, diversification of services and improvement of infrastructure.

Source: uzbektourism.uz