Evaluating Culturalization Strategies for Sustainable Tourism Development in Uzbekistan

Abstract

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing and most visible sectors of the global economy, contributing significantly to boosting a nation’s economy. Currently, tourism-led economic growth considering sustainable approaches is becoming increasingly important in public policy. Recent urban and regional studies have begun to focus on the sustainability of tourism from social, economic, environmental, and cultural perspectives. The research aims to identify the most important issues and barriers to sustainable tourism development in Uzbekistan and proposes the most effective culturalization strategies to overcome those barriers. This paper involves the application of Global RPM (Globalization, Rationality, Professionalism, and Morality) analysis in combination with SANEL HERMES (Sightseeing, Admission paying, Night touring, Experiencing, Learning, Healing, Enjoying, Rest and Relaxing, Memento shopping, Eating and Drinking, and Staying) model based on data from a variety of sources, including literature review, participation interview, tourist survey, and expert questionnaire to identify and classify influencing factors that show existing barriers to sustainable tourism in Uzbekistan. Finally, a set of culturalization strategies is proposed, evaluated, and ranked by experts using a Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix. The results of the survey have shown that tourism activities are currently not sustainable in a satisfactory manner. However, if the policymakers consider the relevant strategies and take this study into account, as well as its findings, then Uzbekistan can be made more attractive in terms of sustainable tourism.

World Heritage Site Tourism and Destination Loyalty along the Silk Road: A Study of U.S. Travelers in Uzbekistan

“…Previous research has been conducted on Silk Road tourism in different countries, including those in Europe, East Asia, and Central Asia [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. This research sheds light on the importance of the ancient Silk Road, conservation, and sustainability, and cooperation to establish new Silk Road initiatives.…”

“…Second, the travel destinations along the Silk Road are popular due to their rich natural, cultural, and heritage sites such as buildings traditional architecture, religious locations, museums, and traditional markets. Initiating monitoring programs and developing standardized evaluations should be discussed with relevant stakeholders at individual, regional, and country levels [12,41,49]. Third, countries have opportunities to build partnerships, enhance economic cooperation, and boost economic impacts.…”

“…The significance of the Silk Road has increased due to its potential economic, sociocultural, political, and environmental impacts across the West and the East [47]. Moreover, the ancient Silk Road sites are located in ancient cities that have been declared WHSs in many countries [41,43,49]. WHSs ensure a globally standardized conservation system, and their UNESCO classification symbolizes their outstanding cultural and heritage assets [55,56].…”

A Decade of Tourism Changes in the Republic of Srpska

“…This kind of tourism also presents vast challenges such as being difficult to define and measure, being more expensive than traditional forms of tourism (in part), and potentially having negative im-pacts on local communities. Another major challenge is the lack of incentives for industry players, which makes it hard for stakeholders to embrace sustainable tourism methods and practices (Fuchs, 2023;Garg & Pandey, 2021;Jeong et al, 2023;Torkington et al, 2020).…”

Regional features of investment activeness in the Republic of Uzbekistan

“…The problem of investment attractiveness also has a sufficient theoretical foundation. Investments together with regional development issues discussed by Doussard and others [6], Mas-Verdu and others [7], Takhumova and others [8], Samigin and others [9], Galanina and others [10], Ohotia and others [11], Baltgailis [12], Tvaronavičienė [13], Selivanova-Fyodorova and others [14], Jeong, J.Y et al [15] Polyakova A.G. and others [16]. The term Investment attractiveness refers to the ability to encourage investors to choose a certain location for their investment [17].…”