Shakhrisabz is a unique city, a monument of ancient urban planning and architecture of Central Asia. It occupies a special place among other historical cities of Uzbekistan. Homeland of Amir Temur, which later became the second capital of the huge medieval empire in the XIV century. The surviving monuments of that time clearly demonstrate the former greatness of the city. In 2000, UNESCO declared the historical center of Shakhrisabz a masterpiece of world heritage.
Today Shakhrisabz is a small green city in the Kashkadarya region of Uzbekistan, located at the foothills of the Gissar mountains on the border with the Karshi steppe. The unique nature and architectural monuments of Shakhrisabz are an attractive factor for tourists from all over the world. Shakhrisabz is of particular interest to lovers of CBT tourism.
CBT tourism is becoming more and more popular among tourists who want to get to know the traditions and way of life of local residents, enjoy unspoiled nature. This type of tourism is based on the use of the tourist potential of rural areas with living in family houses of local residents. Considering that the number of tourists coming to Uzbekistan is constantly increasing, the number of rural family guest houses is also growing.
For family guesthouses taking their first steps in the CBT tourism segment, it is necessary to acquire the necessary skills to operate effectively. To achieve this goal, the activities of the European Union project "Strengthening rural and ecotourism through business associations for sustainable economic development in Central Asia", which is successfully implemented by the Association of private tourism agencies of Uzbekistan (APTA), contributes to the implementation of this task.
On June 10-15, APTA, with the support of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Tourism Development, organized a training "Organization of effective activities of a family guest house" for owners of family guest houses in the city of Shakhrisabz. The training program is aimed at strengthening the capacity of participants to organize work and successfully manage rural tourism and guest houses.
The training program was as rich as possible, it also included topics of narrow specialization that are important for the successful functioning of guest houses, such as managing a guest house, etiquette of receiving and serving tourists.
Within the framework of the educational process, great emphasis was placed on practical exercises. The participants of the training really liked the developed role-playing games, as well as the offsite activities in the existing family guest houses. The training participants noted that the practical exercises helped them to more effectively master the information provided by the industry experts.