CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING THE GREAT SILK ROAD TOURISM PROJECT IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS
Keywords:
Great Silk Road, tourism, pilgrimage, legal basis for tourism, Central AsiaAbstract
The implementation of any international project, including the Great Silk Road, is not conceivable without major legal, economic and political decisions. The article shows that the Central Asian region can hardly be considered homogenous in terms of legal, political and economic resources in the context of this project. The republics are also gradually departing from an authoritative and centralized administrative and political style to a more liberal communication style in their dialog with the tourist industry. The republics have also inherited different historical and cultural versions of this historical phenomenon—the Great Silk Road. This contributed to the fact that economic feasibility led the leadership of the Central Asian republics in different directions in the development of tourism within their segment of the Great Silk Road. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, a large number of historical, cultural and religious monuments contribute to the development of tourist infrastructure around these sites. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan, traversed by the mountain transit roads of the Great Silk Road (which also pass through Tajikistan), relies on natural sites, as evidenced by its official map of attractions and statistics of the National Statistical Committee of the republic. The Republic of Tajikistan, in view of its predominantly agricultural economy, is making efforts to develop rural tourism, relying on eco-friendly agricultural products. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan generally remains a “blind spot” for observers.
Despite the efforts being made, both within the republics (internal reforms) and at the interstate level (an open-door visa poli- cy), the level of tourism development varies significantly between the republics. This applies both to the legal framework and to the financial and infrastructure base. Thus, the Republic of Tajikistan, despite having one of the most loyal visa regimes, demonstrates the lowest number of foreign visitors in the region (not counting Turkmenistan, which has no objective information available in the tourist sphere). An important result of promoting the international Great Silk Road project for the Central Asian republics is the integrative trends and processes aimed at creating a single regional space that contributes to the sustainable development and security both within the republics and in the region as a whole.
Downloads
References
See: O. Mukhamejanov, “Moshchnyi instrument ustoychivogo rosta ekonomiki,” Golos Uzbekistana, 2 March, 2018, available at [http://uzbekistonovozi.uz/ru/articles/index.php SECTION_ID=174&ELEMENT_ID=52864], 16 January, 2020.
See: Acts and Decrees of the President, State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Development of Tourism, available in Russian at [https://uzbektourism.uz/ru/document/resolutions], 16 January, 2020.
See: Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 2 March, 1995 # 78 On the Preparation and Realization of the International Tourism Fair “Silk Road Tourism,” Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available at [https://nrm.uz/contentf?doc=416784_postanovlenie_kabineta_ministrov_respubliki_uzbekistan_ot_02_03_1995_g_n_78_o_podgotovke_i_provedenii_mejdunarodnoy_turisticheskoy_yarmarki_turizm_po_shelkovomu_puti&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 10 December, 2019.
See: Decree of the President of Uzbekistan #UP-1162 dated 2 June, 1995 On the Measures to Stimulate the Participation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Restoration of the Great Silk Road and the Development of International Tourism in the Republic, Lex.uz, available in Russian at [https://lex.uz/docs/182124], 21 December, 2019.
Ibidem.
See: Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 3 June, 1995 #210 On the Measures to Create the Modern Infrastructure for International Tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available in Russian at [https://nrm.uz/contentf?doc=416782_postanovlenie_kabineta_ministrov_respubliki_uzbekistan_ot_03_06_1995_g_n_210_o_merah_po_sozdaniyu_sovremennoy_infrastruktury_mejdun arodnogo_turizma_v_respublike_uzbekistan&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 12 November, 2019.
See: Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 8 August, 1998 г. #346 On Improving the Organization of Tourism Organizations, Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available in Russian at [https://nrm.uz/contentf?doc=416781_postanovlenie_kabineta_ministrov_respubliki_uzbekistan_ot_08_08_1998_ g_n_346_o_sovershenstvovanii_organizacii_deyatelnosti_turisticheskih_organizaciy&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 3 November, 2019.
See: Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 15 April, 1999 #UP-2286 On the State Program of Development of Tourism in Uzbekistan Up To 2005, Lex.uz, available in Russian at [http://lex.uz/docs/213703], 14 October, 2019.
See: Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 30 June, 1999 # UP-2332 On the Training of Quali
See: Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan On the Establishment of the Silk Road International Tourism University, Golos Uzbekistana, 29 June, 2018, available in Russian at [http://uzbekistonovozi.uz/ru/articles/index.php? SECTION_ID=173&ELEMENT_ID=58015], 3 December, 2019.
Law of Turkmenistan dated 10 May, 2010 #107 On Tourism, Alpagama, available in Russian at [https://alpagama. org/pravovaya—baza—turista/zakon—turkmenistana—o—turizme], 3 December, 2019.
See: Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 20 August, 1999 #830—I On Tourism, Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available in Russian at [https://nrm.uz/contentf doc=416776_zakon_respubliki_uzbekistan_ot_20_08_1999_g_n_830-i_o_turizme&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 12 November, 2019.
See: Law of Turkmenistan dated 24 November, 1995, International Tourist Academy, available in Russian at [http:// www.intacadem.ru/zakonodateljstvo—zarubezhnyh—stran/zakon—turkmenistana—o—turizme—ot—24.11.1995.html], 24
December, 2019.
Tourists must pay an entry duty in the amount of $50 upon entering Uzbekistan.
Law of the Republic of Tajikistan On Tourism, Pandia, available in Russian at [https://pandia.ru/text/80/195/42904. php], 25 October, 2019.
See: Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 13 June, 2001 #211—II On Tourist Activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan (amended and revised, as of 1 July, 2019), Online.zakon.kz, available in Russian at [https://online.zakon.kz/ Document/?doc_id=1023618#pos=47;—156], 14 December, 2019.
See: Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 18 July, 2019 # ZRU—549 On Tourism, Narodnoe Slovo, 19 July, 2019, available in Russian at [http://xs.uz/ru/16466], 11 January, 2020.
Law of Turkmenistan On Tourism, Parahat.info, available in Russian at [https://www.parahat.info/law/2010—05— 21—zakon—turkmenistana—o—turizme], 15 December, 2019.
See: Law of the Republic of Tajikistan On Tourism, Pandia, available in Russian at [https://pandia.ru/text/80/195/42904. php], 11 December, 2019.
See: Sanitary Regulations and Norms RUz # 0282—09 (Approved by the Head State Sanitary Doctotron, 31 December, 2009, Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available in Russian at [https://nrm.uz/ contentf?doc=416770_gigienicheskie_trebovaniya_k_organizacii_pitaniya_i_usloviyam_projivaniya_v_gostinichnyh_kom-pleksah_motelyah_kempingah_turisticheskih_bazah_i_individualnyh_mestah_razmeshcheniya_(sanpin_ruz_n_0282—09 (utverjdeny_glavnym_gosudarstvennym_sanitarnym_vrachom_31_12_2009_g)&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 14 October, 2019.
See: Provision on the Entry, Temporary Sojourn and Movement of Tourists through Sites and Areas with a Special Sojourn Regime (Addendum # 1 to the Provision KM RUz dated 10 March, 2015 #53), Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available in Russian at [https://nrm.uz/contentf?doc=386708_polojenie_o_poryadke_vezda_(prohoda)_vremennogo_prebyvaniya_i_peredvijeniya_turistov_po_obektam_i_mestnostyam_na_territorii_kotoryh_ustanov- len_osobyy_rejim_prebyvaniya_(prilojenie_n_1_k_postanovleniyu_km_ruz_ot_10_03_2015_g_n_53)&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 14 October, 2019.
See: List and Sites and Areas Forbidden for Tourist Visits (Addendum #2 to Provision KM RUz dated 10 March, 2015 #53), Information Retrieval and Expert Systems, Legislation of Uzbekistan, available in Russian at [https://nrm.uz/ contentf?doc=386706_perechen_obektov_i_territoriy_zapreshchennyh_dlya_poseshcheniya_turistami_(prilojenie_n_2_k_postanovleniyu_km_ruz_ot_10_03_2015_g_n_53)&products=1_vse_zakonodatelstvo_uzbekistana], 17 December, 2019.
See: “Turistam razreshat svobodnuiu s’emku v obshchestvennykh mestakh ,” Gazeta.uz, 6 February, 2018, available at [https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2018/02/06/photo/], 17 December, 2019.
Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan On the Measures to Ensure the Accelerated Development of the Tourist Sphere in the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2 December, 2016 #UP—486, Lex.uz, available in Russian at [http://lex.uz/ docs/3077023], 2 October, 2019.
See: Turizm v Kyrgyzstane, National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, available at [http://www.stat.kg/ ru/publications/sbornik-turizm-v-kyrgyzstane], 20 December, 2019; Turizm v Kyrgyzstane 2011-2015, Statistical collection, Bishkek, 2016, National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, available at [http://www.stat.kg/media/publicationar- chive/ddd4f2bb-2e32-47bf-8dbf-d44574deb91d.pdf], 2 October, 2019.
See: Address of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Official website of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, 20 April, 2011, available in Russian at [http://www.president.tj/ru/node/864], 14 October, 2019.
See: P.Kh. Azimov, M.M. Aliboeva, “Formirovanie i razvitie predprinimatelstva v sfere turizma v Respublike Tadzhikistan,” Vestnik Natsionalnoi akademii turizma, No. 4 (16), 2010, p. 62.
Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan On Amending and Revising the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated 31 August, 2012, #451, Official website of the Tax Committee under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, available in Russian at [https://andoz.tj/docs/postanovleniya-pravitelstvo/Resolution pdf], 11 December, 2019.№451_ru_new.
See: “Tajikistan in the Fourth Place in the World! British Journalist Names RT among the top-5 Countries with Easiest Requirements for a Tourist Visa,” Tajikistantravel, 21 August, 2017, available in Russian in Russian at [https://traveltajikistan.tj/ru/varzob—2], 14 November, 2019.
See: F.Z. Mirzoeva, Sh. Saldiev, “Kulturnyi turizm i perspektivy ego razvitiia v Tadzhikistane,” Vestnik Tadzhikskogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta, No. 4 (24), 2013, pp. 82-88.
See: S. Karaev, “Komturizma: Tadzhikistan posetili svyshe 1 mln 150 tys. inostrantsev,” Asia-Plus, 16 January, 2019, available at [https://asiaplustj.info/news/life/travels/20190116/komturizma—tadzhikistan—posetili—svishe—1—mln— 250—tis—inostrantsev], 18 December, 2019.
2002-2007 data taken from “Turkmenistan—kolichestvo pribyvshikh,” Knoema, available at [https://knoema.ru/ atlas/Туркменистан/Количество-прибывших], 19 December, 2019.
See: “Kolichestvo inostrannykh turistov za 2018 g.,” State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Tourism, available at [https://uzbektourism.uz/ru/research], 21 December, 2019.
See: Agreement on the Council on Tourism of the CIS Member States, Ashghabat, 30 May, 2012, Lex.uz, available in Russian at [http://www.lex.uz/docs/2630463], 13 November, 2019.
On 10 March, 2020, an additional meeting of the expert group was held at the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk to finalize and agree on a draft Strategy for the Development of Cooperation between the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Field of Tourism for 2021-2030.
See: Panel Meeting of the Council of the Heads of CIS States. Vladimir Putin Took Part in the Panel Meeting of the Council of the Heads of CIS States in Minsk, Kremlin.ru, 25 October, 2013, available in Russian at [http://www.kremlin.ru/ news/19489], 26 November, 2019.
See: R.D. Kulbarakov, “Problemy terrorizma v Tsentralnoi Azii,” International practical conference “Terrorism: Problems of Counteracting,” available at [http://conference.antiterror.rsbi.kz/index.php/doklads/36—kylbarakov], 11 October, 2019.
See: “Ubiystvo turistov i unichtozhenie prestupnikov. Chto proizoshlo v Tadzhikistane,” Sputnik.Kyrgyzstan, 30 July, 2018, available at [https://ru.sputnik.kg/incidents/20180730/1040424919/tadzhikistan—ubijstvo—turisty—terakt. html], 28 October, 2019.
See: V. Mel, “Zona povyshennogo vnimaniia,” Kazakhstanskaia pravda, 12 December, 2018, available at [https:// www.kazpravda.kz/fresh/view/zona—povishennogo—vnimaniya1], 23 October, 2019.
See: Address at the First Investment Forum in the Context of the Action Plan of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for the Countries of Central Asia, Official website of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, 27 October, 2014, available in Russian at [http://www.president.tj/ru/node/7783#muminobod], 17 October, 2019.
Ibidem.
“DUMK: Vynesena obshchaia fetva po aktualnomu religioznomu voprosu,” Official website of the Spiritual Directorate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 26 March, 2018, available at [https://www.muftyat.kz/ru/news/13499], 4 October, 2019.
See: “Pristupila k rabote turisticheskaia firma pri Upravlenii musulman Uzbekistana,” Muslim.uz, 3 July, 2018, available at [http://muslim.uz/index.php/rus/novosti—2018/item/9190—pristupila—k—rabote—turisticheskaya—firma— pri—upravlenii—musulman—uzbekistana], 25 October, 2019.
“Mecheti Astany privlekaiut vse bolshe turistov,” Official website of the Spiritual Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 13 November, 2017, available at [https://www.muftyat.kz/ru/news/12337], 16 October, 2019.
“Mechet voshla v spisok luchshikh turisticheskikh mest mira,” Official website of the Spiritual Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 13 July, 2018, available at [https://www.muftyat.kz/ru/news/14557] 16 October, 2019.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Author
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
